The Road to Hell
by Celtic Cat
Summary: Fifth in the Spike and Rose series. Hiring a nanny, plus dealing with the usual nefarious bad guys. Please review. Complete
1. Picture Perfect

The characters from Angel do not belong to me, but to the great one in whose shadow I humbly bow, Joss Whedon. Rose, on the other hand, is mine.

The Road to Hell

Picture Perfect

Rose had decided that they were going to get a family portrait taken. At first, Spike had demurred. Rose had coaxed, cajoled and wheedled. Spike got stubborn. Rose put her dainty little foot down. Spike wavered. That night, after the twins had been put to bed, Rose had crawled onto Spike's lap, wrapped her arms around his neck and used other forms of persuasion.

Spike caved.

Well, the day was here, and Spike was ready, but no one else seemed to be. He resembled a moderately well-to-do businessman at morning coffee in the dress shirt and slacks that Rose had talked him into, at the moment, except for a few things. One, he was way better looking than the average business man. Two, upon inspection, the paper he was reading was not turned to the financial section, but the comics. And lastly, the mug close at hand contained blood rather than coffee.

Spike was just reaching for his mug when another hand made to grab it too. A little hand.

"Wait just a minute there, precious," he scolded gently. "That's daddy's. Daddy will get you some of your own." Spike put down the paper, got a sippy cup down out of the cupboard and filled it about half-full with blood. A few seconds in the microwave and it was the perfect temperature. He knelt down on the floor. "Doesn't daddy's little girl look pretty today?" he remarked. Spittin' image of her mum, she was. He held the cup out of Ariel's reach. "Give daddy a kiss first."

Chubby little toddler arms wrapped around his neck and soft baby lips planted wet kisses on his cheek. "Thank you, daddy," she said in her little lisping voice as Spike gave her the cup.

"Where's your brother?" Spike asked. Even though they had finally gotten them sleeping in separate beds, the twins were seldom apart.

A dulcet baby giggle. "Fussing with mummy," Ariel explained. "Al'ric doesn't want to wear a tie. Like daddy."

Spike winced a bit. He'd been pretty vocal about not wearing a tie, but he hadn't intended to start a general insurrection on account of it. He lifted the little girl up onto one of the chairs. "Why don't you be a good girl and wait here nice and quiet like while daddy gives your mum a hand?" he suggested. He tweaked her nose and was rewarded with another giggle and a sunny smile. He headed for the twin's room.

"For heaven's sake, Alaric, hold still." Rose's voice drifted out of the room. "Mummy just wants you to look nice for the pictures."

"Not wearing a nancy-boy tie," Alaric said stubbornly. Spike looked in the doorway to see his son's face puffed out in a pout. "Don't want to look like a big ponce."

Rose sighed. She'd been at Spike repeatedly to watch what he said around the children, and he had tried. But the way he put things was so much a part of his persona that it hadn't fully taken. Not saying it wouldn't have been enough anyway, but she couldn't very well tell him what to think, though she had tried upon occasion. She just wished that sometimes the twins would pick up on someone else's thoughts other than their father's. She tried again. "You look like a little gentleman," she said coaxingly. She found it hard to scold him. He was the very picture of his father, although the blond waves covering his little head were the results of nature rather than artifice.

"Alaric." Spike's voice came from the doorway, where he was leaning indolently against the frame. "Do as your mum tells you."

"I look a right nit," the little boy sulked, but finally gave in and allowed his mother to tie the tie.

"You look very handsome," Rose corrected him gently. She looked up at Spike. "Where is Ariel?"

"In the kitchen," Spike replied. "Left her sitting there with her cup."

Rose froze a moment, having a horrible visual. "What is in her cup?" she asked weakly. She thought she already knew.

"Blood," Spike answered, puzzled. Rose was, or ought to be used to the fact that now that she wasn't pregnant, she was the only one in the household that didn't drink blood.

Rose closed her eyes a moment, as if praying for divine guidance, and perhaps she was. She was, after all, on a first name basis with most divinities. "She's wearing her good clothes and you gave her blood?" she inquired in the mildest of tones. That alone was enough to bring Spike up short. When Rose was being that deliberately calm, it meant that she was on the verge of monumentally pissed. "Spike, what on earth were you thinking of?"

"What?" For a moment, Spike was totally confused. Then, it finally dawned on him, that even a sippy cup tended to leak when upended, and for all their verbal precociousness, the twins were only eighteen months old and not too well coordinated yet. He made a beeline back to the kitchen.

He was too late. His precious baby girl looked like she had had a front row seat to an axe murder, and Spike wondered idly if she had actually drunk any of it, or merely poured it all over herself. "Bleeding hell," he swore softly, forgetting himself. "Your mum's gonna kill me."

"All gone, daddy." Ariel held out the empty cup.

&&&&&&&

The coven were all met to discuss their plans. Big plans.

"The blue moon is only three weeks away," one of the thirteen observed. "If we miss this chance to cast the spell, it will be years before we can even make the attempt again."

"We have found the location where the spell will be the most efficacious," announced another. "What is keeping us from it?"

"There is one item we need to cast the spell that we have not yet located," a third replied. "Indeed, it is something I have never heard of. Perhaps the whole notion behind the spell is a poor joke."

"What is the item?" asked one of the others.

"The blood of a vampire who is pure of heart," the coven's leader replied. "But since vampires are, by their natures, evil then..,"

"How can we find one that is pure of heart?" finished yet another of the coven's members.

"How indeed?" murmured the leader.

&&&&&&&

"Never did see a woman who hated shopping as much as you do, pet," Spike remarked, as they carried several bags up to their flat with the children frolicking on ahead of them.

"Maybe because you always get carried away?" Rose suggested. "Besides, we weren't even going to go shopping. We were just getting the pictures taken." She thought of the interminable half-hour at the studio. "I hope the pictures turn out well."

"Don't see why they shouldn't," Spike replied. "The photographer even said he'd never seen such a good-looking group before." He looked insufferably smug.

"What is all this stuff?" Rose asked. "I don't remember getting this much."

"Well," Spike said hesitantly. "You did say the kids were growing out of their shoes."

"I did," Rose agreed. "And shoes for the children would not fill all these shopping bags. Did I see you looking at little girl's outfits again? Spike, Ariel has enough clothes to stock a small store now."

"And two outfits got ruined today," Spike muttered. He looked a little shamefaced, since the destruction of both of them could be laid squarely at his feet.

"Why did you feel you had to get them ice cream?" Rose inquired.

"They'd been so good at the photo studio," Spike explained. "I thought they ought to have something for the effort."

"And of course it just had to be chocolate, since it stains so well," Rose sighed. "What's in that other bag? The one you wouldn't let me carry or even look inside?"

Spike smirked. He knew which bag she was referring to. From Victoria's Secret. He'd popped in while Rose had been trying to clean ice cream off of two little faces. "It's a surprise," he murmured in sly tones. "For later." He glanced up to see what the kids were up to, but they were just running around in good, high spirits. Rowdy, but behaving.

"I think I've had enough surprises for the day," Rose muttered weakly.

"You'll like this surprise," Spike promised her. He took a closer look at her and realized that even though the day was barely half over, she looked about all done in. If she was this tired now, how was she going to feel when it was time to spring his surprise on her? Wouldn't be any fun at all if she was too tired to.., "Why don't you pop in and visit with Angel for a bit, luv?" he suggested. "I'll watch the kids for a couple of hours. Give you a chance to get a breather." Proof of how much he wanted her rested enough to be in the mood if he could bring himself to suggest that she go spend time with the ponce.

"I don't know." Rose thought of the state their home might be in when she returned. When Spike said he was going to take care of the children, it usually meant a fairly destructive playtime. All of which she generally ended up cleaning up after. But the idea of some time away from her two little bundles of energy, much as she loved them, did hold a certain appeal. She had very little time any more that was adults only, and she was surprised to find that she missed. it. "If you're sure."

"I'm sure," Spike insisted. "And I promise that we won't trash the place." Inspiration struck. "I'll read to them. They always sit quiet if you read to them."

Rose smiled. The twins had greatly enjoyed being read to from all their children's books. From the time they were still in the womb until they were about a month old. Then, they'd started demanding slightly more.., esoteric fare. Now that they were a year and a half old, their tastes were, well, different. She smiled, wondering how Spike would take it when he found out what their current interest was. "Fine, love," she murmured. "We're about half-way through the Slayer's handbook."

&&&&&&&

Angel had a dvd in the player, but he was half-dozing over it. The movie had made a lot of promises, and wasn't living up to any of them. It was almost a relief, even if it was a surprise to hear someone at the door.

"Rose." He smiled to see her, but his pleasure at the unexpected visit received a slight check. "Is everything all right?" She did look a little frayed around the edges.

"Fine," Rose assured him. "Spike just thought I could use a little time away from the children. It has been a rather hectic morning."

"Come in and sit down," Angel said, remembering his manners, now that his nerves had been calmed. "Would you like a cup of coffee?"

"Please." Rose smiled at him. "And if you don't mind, while you're getting it, I'm going to use your bathroom and tidy up a bit. I'm all sticky."

&&&&&&&&

"'The newly raised dead are fairly single-minded about feeding and will let little distract them, thus making them far easier targets than older vampires.'" Spike read aloud. "What a crock of.., load of codswallop," he corrected himself hastily. "I've seen plenty of new vamps that had a lot more on their minds than a quick bite."

"Stop," Alaric demanded, then his brow furrowed in thought, trying to come up with the right word. He held a quick, silent conference with his twin. That was the right word, but the frustrating thing was that it was too hard to pronounce, just yet. So, he thought it at his father. "'Editorializing'."

"That's a pretty big word." Spike was constantly being impressed by his offspring. But then, hadn't he told Rose that they were going to be smart? "But you know your mum wants you to talk instead of thinking at people."

"Can't say it yet." Alaric was looking a little sulky again, peeved at the restrictions of being a baby. It didn't bother Ariel half so much. She usually found ways to say what she wanted without getting into such deep waters. Alaric's mind veered away from the contents of the book for a moment. "It's a pretty color," he observed. "But won't mummy get cold?"

Ariel giggled. She, unlike her father, knew what her brother was referring to. "I heard daddy thinking when he bought it," she announced. "It's not for keeping mummy warm. It's for taking off again."

Suddenly, Spike got it, and wished that he hadn't. He and Rose tried to keep things toned down while the kids were up and about, but he suspected them of shamming sometimes when they were supposed to be asleep. As a result the twins knew far more about their parent's love life than most children ever know. It led to all sorts of awkward situations. Like this one. He covered his eyes with a hand. How was he going to dig himself out of this one?

&&&&&&&

Angel handed Rose a cup. "I hope that the ice cream came after the pictures and not before," he remarked.

"It did," Rose replied, taking a sip of her coffee. "Thank goodness for small favors. Spike wanted to treat the children for being so well behaved." And they had been. In public, they were little angels. It was when they got home that they turned into little hellions. "This is nice," she sighed. "I love my children to death, Angel. But sometimes they drive me insane."

Angel smiled. A lot of women felt that way, he was sure. And none of them had children like Alaric and Ariel. "Wes has been champing at the bit wondering when you're going to come back to work," he commented. "Have you ever thought of hiring a nanny, Rose? Even just a couple of days a week. You could come to work and give yourself a break from the kids. It would probably be good for you and them."

"But how would I find someone?" Rose asked. The idea held some attraction. "You have to admit that they're not.., normal children. How many humans could cope with them?"

Angel thought about it for a moment. "Good point," he conceded. "It's going to have to be someone who can deal with the fact that they drink blood and already have a better vocabulary than some adults."

"Not to mention someone that can deal with having their mind read on a regular basis," Rose remarked. "Do you think we'll be able to find someone like that?"

"There's got to be someone out there who can handle it," Angel replied. "Want me to help you write a help-wanted ad?"

&&&&&&&

A small, unassuming man sat reading the help-wanted ads a few days later. So far, it had been a bust. Stuff that required degrees that he didn't have, or another Mcjob. He glanced idly at the child-care section. He wasn't sure if anyone would actually hire him to take care of their kids, but children generally seemed to like his quiet demeanor. That one looked a little different. And promised a pretty good salary for part-time. It read, 'Three days a week. Care for eighteen month old twins. Special needs children. Apply at Wolfram and Hart.' That and the salary. Well, why not apply? He needed the bread, and the worst they could do was turn him down. He threw down some change to pay for the bitter cup of coffee he'd just gagged down and headed out towards his battered van. Wolfram and Hart. Wasn't that a law firm? Who there would need a babysitter?


	2. Not Mary Poppins

Not Mary Poppins

Jason Westlake picked up his buzzing cell phone and checked who the incoming caller was. Damn. He'd told the rest of the coven often enough not to call him at work. It was risky enough just meeting with them. If his place of business ever heard that he was a practicing member of a witch's coven, he'd be out on his ear. At least the idiot had enough sense just to text message him. No chance of anyone else hearing the inexplicable conversation. He read the message. 'A lead on a vampire with a pure heart. Call me soonest.' Well, that was something. For news of that magnitude he'd be willing to overlook the intrusion. He just hoped that the lead panned out. Time was running short, and another chance wouldn't come for years.

&&&&&&&

He felt a little awkward, going up to a secretary in a law firm to ask about a babysitting job. Not that it showed. There were some people that had speculated as to whether or not he even had emotions, so little showed on his face or in his voice.

"I'm here about the nanny's job," he said quietly. Not that he ever got all that loud.

"I'll just call and see if Ms. Powers can see you now," the secretary assured him. She wasn't the usual one, Harmony was off on vacation this week. She rang up the senior partner's suite. "Ms. Powers? I have an applicant here for your nanny's position. Shall I bring him up?" There was a brief pause, then, she hung up the phone. "She can see you now," she said with a smile. "Right this way, Mr...?"

"Osborne," he replied. "Daniel Osborne."

&&&&&&&

Rose was just managing not to pace the floor. A male nanny? Well, if he could do the job, and the children liked him, why not? She hoped he would be the one. So far, she had had twenty interviews, and each and every one of them had proved to be unsuitable in one way or another. There had been one memorable one who she'd been interviewing when the twins had emerged from the kitchen from their mid-afternoon snack, faces smeared in blood. That one had bolted out the door without another word. Some had been plainly unqualified. And one had even been planning to steal her children to sell them. That one hadn't made it out of the building. Once the children had read it in her mind, they had telepathically informed her and all she'd had to do was call security. She'd better take a look at the twins now, see if they were presentable.

&&&&&&&

So far, Rose liked what she had seen of Daniel Osborne. Quiet, mild-mannered and close enough to her own size as to not seem intimidating. He sipped at the glass of mineral water that she'd pressed on him while waiting for the next question.

"I guess that you ought to meet the children," Rose remarked. She hoped the children would like him. She hoped he didn't have any dark secrets that would make him unsuitable. She had about had it with interviews. "They tend to have very strong opinions."

"At eighteen months old?" He raised his eyebrows. An actual expression. "I know you said they were precocious, but..,"

"You'll see," Rose replied, half-warningly. "Alaric, Ariel, come meet Mr. Osborne."

The children trailed in obediently enough and immediately scoped out the newcomer. Checking out not only his appearance, but what he was thinking as well.

Alaric, always the boldest of the two, was the first to speak. "He's afraid that you won't hire him," he stated.

"Because he's a werewolf," Ariel added.

He sat and stared at the tiny children that had just uttered his deepest secret. He'd had it under control for so long now that he seldom even thought about it consciously. But it must have been on his mind. "They read minds?" he asked weakly, seeing his chances of getting some eating money go down the drain.

"That's one of the things that I kind of fit under the 'special needs,'" Rose said apologetically. "But don't think I'll hold being a werewolf against you. I'm seldom held up in the office until after dark, and I'll certainly make a point of getting home on time during the full moon."

He was still having a little trouble assimilating all this. Especially the way that Ms. Powers took the fact that he was a werewolf in stride. "What else fits under 'special needs'?" he asked cautiously.

"Their father is a vampire," Rose explained. "Unlikely as that sounds. So, they drink blood." She waited for him to walk out after that. Although she'd think that a werewolf wouldn't be as narrow-minded as most humans.

"You're right," he agreed. "It does sound unlikely." He looked at the toddlers, still standing there, regarding him with blue and gray eyes that were starting to work on him. He knew what it was like to be different, and how different could you get than kids that were half vampire? "But I've seen a few unlikely things in my time."

Rose looked expectantly at the children.

"I like him," Ariel said, giving him a heart-melting smile. Always the little charmer.

Alaric was a bit more conservative in his opinion. "I 'spose he'll do," he said grudgingly. "I'd rather have you, mummy."

"You need to learn to get along with other people besides us," Rose pointed out. She turned back to her new nanny. "It looks like you're hired then, Mr. Osborne. When can you start?"

"Anytime you like, Ms. Powers," he assured her.

"Please," she said with a smile. "Call me Rose."

He gave her his version of a smile. "I will if you call me Oz."

&&&&&&&

Spike opened the door to the flat, and as usual, was set upon the moment the door opened.

"Daddy!" The twins rushed him.

He scooped them up in his arms, giving and receiving kisses. "Have you two been good today?" It was a standard question.

"We got a nanny," Ariel informed him. "He's a werewolf."

"He's staying for dinner tonight," Alaric added. "Mummy said he didn't look like he'd been getting enough to eat."

"What, he hasn't been out gobbling people up?" Spike asked, teasing them. A werewolf indeed. Couldn't imagine one looking for a nanny's job.

"He doesn't eat people," Ariel said seriously. "He doesn't like to hurt people. I like him."

"You like everybody," Alaric remarked, a little scornfully. "He's okay." He turned his attention from his sister back to his father. "Can we watch him turn into a wolf?"

Spike was searching in his head for a diplomatic, and unprofane way to say that there was no sodding way that they could watch the new nanny turn into a wolf when he heard the faint murmur of voices from the kitchen. "He in there with your mum?" he asked.

Alaric nodded, and Ariel said, "He's helping."

Spike kept on moving towards the kitchen. There was something familiar about the voice, but he couldn't quite yet hear it well enough to identify it. When he arrived at his destination, the slight figure of the new nanny turned from where he'd been retrieving something from the fridge for Rose. "Well bugger me," Spike said softly.

Oz had heard the children greeting their father as he got home. He wondered what sort of vampire did the nine to five gig. But Rose was nice, and the children were downright adorable, even if they did take a little getting used to. Maybe someone the initiative had chipped, like Spike. He turned to look and see what the other half of his pair of employers looked like. And just stood there, barely managing not to let his jaw drop to the floor.

The twins wriggled until Spike set them down. They both went over to their new nanny. Ariel tugged at his pants leg until he looked down at her. "It's all right," she assured him. "Daddy won't hurt you."

"He has a soul," Alaric added. "Like Uncle Angel."

"Spike darling, please watch your language in front of the children," Rose admonished. "Why don't you say hello to Mr. Osborne? Excuse me, Oz."

"Hello Oz." Spike at his most nonchalant, though the appearance of the werewolf, he'd have to admit that the kids weren't having one on him this time, had thrown him for a bit of a loop. "Long time no see."

"Likewise," Oz agreed. Spike with a soul? Well, why not? Then, something else hit him. "Uncle Angel?"

"You didn't know?" Spike inquired. "Runs the place now."

"You already know each other?" Rose was the one left out in the cold now.

"You meet some interesting types, living on a hellmouth," Spike replied. "Just one more of the old Sunnydale gang. That's me, him, the ponce, Wesley and Harm."

Oz sat down suddenly. "I never thought I'd say this," he muttered. "But this is just too weird."

&&&&&&&&

Jason met Nathan Wayne in a little out of the way coffee shop. Ironically enough, the same one where Oz had read Rose's help wanted ad.

"I don't like meeting in a public place like this," Jason muttered. "It's too exposed. Someone could see us."

"And what would they see?" asked Nathan with his supercilious British accent. "Just a couple of chaps sitting in a cheap diner drinking lousy coffee and talking. Nothing that would connect you to.., anything. So why don't you just relax and stop acting like you've got something to hide? It makes you terribly conspicuous."

Jason sat up a little straighter and tried to act more normally, but it was a stretch. "You said that you had a line on a vampire with a pure heart," he reminded his companion. "So when are you going to tell me about it?"

"He has a soul," Nathan murmured. "He's currently running the L.A. branch of Wolfram and Hart. But it may be a little tricky getting him to the location at the right time."

"Wait a minute," Jason protested. "If he has a soul, wouldn't killing him for the spell be wrong? The whole idea behind this spell is to make things better."

"There are a lot of people running around with souls right now that are totally evil," Nathan pointed out. "And have you ever heard of anything good coming out of Wolfram and Hart? The place itself stands for pure evil."

"You have a point," Jason conceded. "Have you told any of the others yet?"

Nathan shook his head. "You're the coven leader," he replied. "I thought I should tell you first. Besides, we need to think of a plan to get the vampire where we want him."

"We'll discuss it at tomorrow night's meeting," Jason answered, getting out of the booth. "This plan was made by all of us, and we're all going to be in on every stage of the planning." He walked away leaving Nathan sitting there. He turned around for a moment, thinking of something else, but his fellow coven member had already left. It suddenly occurred to him to wonder how a vampire could be evil enough that it wouldn't be wrong to kill him and still be pure of heart. He'd ask Nathan at the meeting tomorrow night. Nathan always seemed to have an answer for everything.

&&&&&&&

It was Rose's first day back on the job, and Angel was feeling a little fidgety. He loved the twins as dearly as if they were his own. And Rose had had enough trouble finding someone suitable that he was afraid that she might have settled for someone that wasn't up for the job just to end all the interviews. He made an executive decision and decided to take a break and go visit the kids. He was passing by Harmony's desk, and though he might not admit it, he kind of missed having Harmony there. He'd gotten used to her presence. Suddenly he turned around and to the surprise of her temporary replacement, started going through the desk drawers.

"Excuse me, sir," she said. "But if I knew what you were looking for, maybe I could find it for you."

"I found it." Angel pulled out a bag of candy and took a couple of pieces out. "Harmony's stash."

"I didn't know that vampires ate candy," the secretary replied, looking puzzled.

"She keeps it there for Rose and Spike's kids," Angel explained. "If something important comes up, call me on my cell. But if you call, make sure it's important." He walked away, leaving the desk drawers hanging open.

&&&&&&

Oz had brought his guitar along with him, and the children were delighted to find that he was a musician. Somehow, before he knew it, they were having a sing along, and all three of them were having a good time. The music had stopped for the moment, while he was showing the kids how to make chords, although they'd have some growing to do before their little fingers could reach. But they watched him and listened to his explanations, absolutely fascinated.

The door buzzed, and both twins stopped and just seemed to concentrate on something for the moment. Then, they both broke out in smiles. "It's Uncle Angel," they chorused, and ran to the door.

Oz felt a little awkward about seeing Angel again, but, he reflected, it couldn't be more awkward than it had been seeing Spike again. He'd cope. He usually did. He opened the door. "Better than a burglar alarm," he remarked. "Having people who can tell who's at the door before you open it. Hi, Angel."

"Oz?" Angel was beyond stunned, but his attention was momentarily taken away as the little ones descended on him.

"Did you bring us something, Uncle Angel?" Alaric demanded.

"Al'ric," Ariel warned. "Mummy said that wasn't polite. You're supposed to wait till he gives us the candy."

Angel smiled at the twosome, and bent down to get some hugs and kisses. "Can't keep anything from you two," he observed. He gave them each a piece of candy. "This is our little secret, right guys? I don't need another lecture from your mother about rotting your teeth out."

"We won't tell." Ariel giggled and batted her eyelashes at him.

"Manners, Ari'l," Alaric admonished, getting his own shot in. "Thank you, Uncle Angel."

"Thank you," Ariel echoed.

"You're welcome," Angel replied. He didn't want a lecture on not setting a good example, either. "Could you two find something to do for a few minutes? I want to talk to Oz."

"He's a werewolf," Ariel informed him.

"Uncle Angel already knows that," Alaric commented. "He already knows him." He and his sister communicated silently for a moment, then departed for their room.

Angel stood. "You're looking good, Oz," he remarked, suddenly at a loss as to what to say to him. "Maybe a little on the scrawny side."

Oz shrugged. "I've kind of been bumming around for a couple of years," he admitted. "I never got around to going back to school or anything. Hooked up with a couple of bands, but they broke up."

"And you just drifted into L.A.?" Angel started to smell something contrived about the whole thing.

"Now that's the weird thing," Oz replied. "And, in a life that has not been without some weird things happening. I was half-way across the country, and I just started feeling like I was being pulled to come here."

"What do you know about them?" Angel nodded towards the children's room where the buzz of little voices could be heard.

"Pretty much everything," Oz answered. "I stayed to dinner the other night, and Rose and Spike filled me in on the whole deal after the kids had turned in."

"Including who Rose is?" Angel pressed. He just had a sneaking suspicion.

That one threw Oz for a loop. He could tell that Rose was a little different than most people, but he'd been around quite a bit, and met a lot of unusual people. He would have considered Spike the more remarkable member of the team. "Okay, so I know she's a bit, unworldly, I guess you'd call it," he admitted. "So what didn't they tell me?"

"For starters, unworldly just about covers it," Angel said. "Do you think I could get a cup of blood? My temp. doesn't get it for me like Harmony does."


	3. Feeling the Love

Feeling the Love

"It's very simple, Jason," Nathan explained as patiently as he could manage. "He has a pure heart, but he's being mislead and won't listen to reason. The path he's on now will cause more harm than good. Now do you see?"

"I think so," Jason replied slowly. "I'm glad you're here, Nathan. If you hadn't explained that to me, I would have called the whole thing off, and we would have missed our chance."

"That's what I'm here for, Jason," Nathan said smoothly. "To explain things to you. To make sure you do the right thing."

&&&&&&&

"Come in." Lorne didn't even look up from his appointment book where he was doing a juggling act trying to make everything fit.

"Uncle Lorne!" The twins rushed to greet him. They did almost everything at a dead run.

"Hello, munchkins." Lorne flipped the book shut. "What are you two doing down here? And does your mother know?"

"Mummy's working," Ariel said, climbing, with help, up onto Lorne's lap.

"We're showing Oz around," Alaric added, claiming the other knee. "He's our nanny."

"He's a werewolf." Ariel seemed to feel compelled to impart this bit of information to everyone they met.

"And he plays the guitar," Alaric added.

"Always happy to meet a fellow musician," Lorne said cordially. "You'll excuse me if I don't get up?" He nodded at the little people sitting on his lap.

"No problem," Oz assured him. He had initially nixed the grand tour of the law firm, but now somehow found himself being escorted around by his precocious charges anyway.

"So, what brings you to my little slice of Wolfram and Hart?" Lorne inquired. "I would have thought that Rosebud would have put it off limits."

"She didn't really mention it," Oz replied. "But I did say that I thought it was a bad idea and got talked into it anyway. I suspect mind control at this point."

Lorne blinked. He wasn't quite sure how to take the newcomer. The words he'd spoken sounded completely serious, delivered as they were in Oz' deadpan manner.

"He's joking, Uncle Lorne," Ariel said, snuggling into the demon.

Lorne trusted the twins' judgment. To the best of his knowledge, they hadn't called one wrong yet. But he made a mental note never to play poker with Oz.

"But he's starting to wonder now," Alaric remarked. He looked at Oz. "We can't do that." He turned back to his sister. "Can we?"

Ariel thought about it for a moment. "Mummy wouldn't like it," she stated finally, and that seemed to settle matters.

&&&&&&&

Spike had a new operative to train, and a right cocky one too. He kind of liked taking the arrogant ones down a peg. As far as he was concerned, the only person who had cocky in his job description was him.

"You don't look like much," the newcomer scoffed. He was over six feet tall and built like a tank. "I could take you out without working up a sweat."

Spike stood from where he'd been leaning against the wall. "So, why don't you give it a shot?" he suggested. He stood there, calm, casual and confident.

Spike's lazy self-assurance got to the guy, and he rushed him. Spike let him come, and at the last moment, stepped to one side and held out an arm. The aggressor, unable to check his momentum, ran right into the arm, which didn't move a millimeter.

Spike leaned over the form currently sprawled out on the floor. "I think you ought to know," he said softly. "That my eighteen month old twins are so tough that we had to hire a werewolf as a nanny." He gave the idiot a dose of smirk for good measure.

The rest of the crew stood around watching with grins in various stages. It was kind of fun to watch the boss in action. When they weren't the ones on the receiving end, anyway.

"When that big ape can move again," Spike told the rest of his lads. "Why don't you lot start getting him trained? And see if you can get him to move it. He's slower than the seven-year itch."

&&&&&&&&

They were on the last leg of the tour, and Oz was feeling a little apprehensive about this one. Especially since the voice coming out of the office they were headed for didn't sound all that happy.

"Have you been saving up all the administrative chores since I've been on leave, Wesley?" Rose demanded. "You've got stuff here that goes back at least six months."

"And you were on your leave of absence for nearly two years," Wes pointed out. "So no, it's not all the routine paperwork." He gave Rose an appealing look. "I've been short-handed for the whole time you've been gone, Rose," he said plaintively. "There was important work to do, and the mundane things just got pushed to the side."

Before Rose could reply, she heard a familiar pair of giggles. "What are you two doing here?" she asked.

"My fault," Oz apologized. "I let myself get talked into a tour against my better judgment." He looked over at the other half of the discussion, and though you couldn't tell, received something of a shock. He remembered the Watcher as being pompous and prissy, dressed with fussy formality. Now, he looked like a regular guy. "Hi, Wesley."

"Oz?" That seemed to be the standard reaction to his presence.

"The one and only," Oz confirmed. "Listen, Rose, I'm sorry about this. It won't happen again."

"Well." Rose wavered. She knew just how persuasive and charming and conniving her offspring could be. Just like their father. "No real harm done. And I didn't think to specifically forbid it." She gave all three of them a stern look, but didn't manage to hide the twinkle in her eyes. "But I am now," she added. "So no more trips down here, understand?"

"My word on it," Oz promised.

Rose looked to see if it had sunk into the twins' heads just in time to see Wes slipping something into their little hands.

"Wesley Wyndam-Pryce," she said in exasperation. "You're going to..,"

"Rot their teeth out?" Oz supplied, then realized that he was giving the game away.

"Who else has been giving them candy today?" Rose asked tiredly. Ever since Alaric and Ariel had been old enough to eat the stuff, it seemed that everyone in the law firm had taken to keeping some on hand. And doling it out whenever they saw the little dynamos.

"Well, not naming names or anything," Oz started. "At last count, everybody. If you want numbers, though, I kind of lost count a couple of floors ago."

"They're not even going to touch their dinner tonight," Rose moaned. "And now I have all this boring paperwork to go through because someone was too lazy to do it. Whose stupid idea was this, anyway?"

&&&&&&&

"The kids aren't coming down with something, are they?" Spike asked Rose as they were preparing to turn in for the night. "They hardly touched a bite of their dinner."

"If they aren't sick now, they ought to be," Rose commented. "They talked Oz into a tour of the law firm and all and sundry stuffed them with candy."

"I see." Spike didn't carry on with the subject, since he'd been an offender himself all too often. Whereas Rose, who had once had not understood why pre-packaged foods weren't all that good for her had now become a nutrition nazi. "The kids seem to be getting along all right with Oz, then?"

"They seem to like him," Rose replied, getting into bed. "It helps that he's a musician, they always have loved music."

"Small wonder since they've had people singing to them since before they were born," Spike remarked. "And you really don't have a problem with him being a werewolf?"

"Actually, it's something of a comfort," Rose said musingly. "If anyone tries to hurt them, they'll have a werewolf to protect them."

"I hadn't thought of that myself," Spike admitted. "I hate thinking that they need protecting by anyone but me."

"You can't be everywhere all the time," Rose pointed out. "Are you coming to bed or not?"

"How was your first day back at work?" He settled under the covers and pulled her close to him.

"I hate Wesley Wyndam-Pryce," Rose muttered into her pillow.

"That bad, hmm?" Spike started nibbling at her earlobe. "Want daddy to kiss it and make it all better?"

&&&&&&&

A pinch of this herb, a sprig of that, all fed into the little fire, which suddenly flared up a lot bigger. The owner of the hand feeding the fire was muttering something in an incomprehensible language. A noxious smoke filled the room, but he hardly noticed. Just concentrate on the spell. Suddenly, the little fire shot up again, nearly to the ceiling. Then, it died down and went out completely. "There," the spell caster murmured. "That ought to help stiffen your spine, Jason my lad." He gave a self-satisfied chuckle. A white magic spell that required a death? They were all either innocents or fools, or deliberately fooling themselves. And Jason was the worst of the lot. If he could keep Jason under control, then things would work. Just not the way the rest of the coven thought it would. His way.

&&&&&&

Angel had waylaid Oz as he'd been leaving work, and they had ended up sitting in his penthouse, drinking beer and swapping stories. For quite a while now. He'd initially made the offer out of politeness, since his association with Oz had been limited, but he was finding him to be good company.

Oz looked at the time. "It's getting late," he remarked. "I ought to be getting back to my place." He didn't add that 'his place' was currently a cheap dingy room in a grubby little motel in one of the less fashionable parts of town. If he had gone much longer without a paying gig, his place would have been in his van, as it had many a time before.

Angel looked at the clock and confirmed Oz' observation. "I had no idea that it was that late," he said apologetically. "And you've put away a few too, Oz. Why don't you just crash here for the night?"

Oz hesitated. "I don't want to impose," he replied. "On the other hand, the way my van looks, cops just tend to pull me over on general principle. And they usually want to do a sobriety test."

"Which you probably wouldn't pass tonight," Angel pointed out. "It's no big deal, Oz. And you can sleep in a little later seeing how close you'll be to work."

"You talked me into it," Oz conceded.

"Actually, it will be nice to have a guest that doesn't keep me up half the night," Angel remarked. "The only other times I've had someone staying here, it was always Rose and Spike. I used to wonder if the two of them ever got any sleep at all."

"I'm so beat I don't think I could do anything even if I had someone in there with me," Oz admitted. "Those kids are enough to run anyone ragged. I'll just run down to my van and grab a few things."

&&&&&&&

'They've started.' Ariel's voice said in her brother's head.

'I know,' Alaric answered. They stopped communicating even telepathically for a while, just tuning in to their parents.

Hearing the moans and hoarsely whispered endearments. And mostly, feeling the intense emotions that passed between Rose and Spike. Quite literally, feeling the love.

'Why do they insist on shutting us out of this?' Alaric demanded, as things started to wind down.

'I think it's a grown-up thing,' Ariel replied vaguely. 'I like it when they do that though. It feels like the whole place is filling up with love.'

&&&&&&&

Spike kissed Rose again. "It just keeps getting better and better between us, babe," he remarked, utterly contented. "You're absolutely bloody amazing."

"I had a good teacher," Rose teased. She returned the kiss. "I love you, Spike."

"I love you too, sweetheart," Spike replied, suddenly serious. "But I don't think I really taught you anything. I think you had all that love in you all the time. You just needed something to do with it all."

"You're daft," Rose murmured, snuggling into him. "I didn't have any emotions whatsoever. You're the one who taught me how to love. And you keep teaching me more all the time."

"If that's the case then," Spike returned, unconvinced. "Are you up to another lesson tonight, luv?" He started kissing her neck, working his way down to the base of her throat.

And in the next room, the twins slowly lost the battle against sleep, and drifted off, contented as their parents were.


	4. Simmer Till Done

Simmer Till Done

"Rose, do you have any problem with me taking the kids out from time to time?" Oz asked when he showed up for work the next morning. He'd been doing some thinking and came to the conclusion that the apartment, spacious though it was, must be a bit confining for such energetic little people.

Rose smacked her forehead. "I knew I forgot to tell you about something yesterday," she apologized. She pulled a box off the top of the entertainment center. "This is what Spike refers to as 'gadding about money'," she explained. "If you want to take them somewhere that requires money, there it is. Also, the keys to the car, since it already has their car seats in it." She paused in thought a moment. "What else was there? Oh yes, if you're going to be outdoors for a while, make sure they have plenty of sunblock on. They can go out in the sun, but they burn very easily. The current theory is that they'll grow out of that. The going out in the sun part, not the burning."

Oz listened to her monologue, absorbing it all. "So if I were to take them to play in the park I'd need to keep them in the shade, right?" he asked, giving a specific situation to show that he understood the generalities.

Rose nodded. "I think that covers it," she said, and began looking for her briefcase. "Oh, and if you do take them out, please don't..,"

"Feed them a bunch of junk food?" Oz thought that was a pretty safe bet.

"Exactly." Rose beamed at him. "You'll do fine." She glanced at the time. "Spike, what's taking you so long? You're going to be late."

Spike emerged from the children's bedroom with his arms full. "Give your mum a kiss," he directed, and for a few moments, it was a group hug. Then, Spike reluctantly set the twins down. "You two behave and mind what Oz tells you."

"And no more trips to the offices," Rose added in tones much less indulgent than Spike's had been.

&&&&&&&&

Nathan was taking a stroll through the park for the lack of anything better to do. Watching the people pass by, scurrying mindlessly about their pointless little lives. He felt above it all, certainly above them, bunch of clockwork toys the lot of them. And children. The place was absolutely crawling with them. He wondered how many of the adults escorting them were actually their parents, or just the hired help. Considering the times, the hired help seemed a better bet. There was a case in point. Toddlers, male and female, so close in size they had to be twins, with clothes that suggested an upper middle class income. While the small man tending them was wearing clothes that had probably never been fashionable and now were somewhat worse for the wear. Nathan wondered how he had gotten a job looking after small children. He was about to move on, he'd only noticed them because of the striking differences, when he paused and looked again. The man looked a bit familiar. Where had he seen him before? Then it struck him. Sunnydale. One of the Slayer's little clique. Nathan paused to take in a bit more of the scene.

&&&&&&&

The twins were seated in the baby swings, side by side, and Oz was using a hand apiece to push them. The kids were having an absolute ball.

"Higher, Oz," Alaric demanded.

"Me too," Ariel put in.

"You're high enough," Oz said firmly. Maybe he was being a little overly cautious, but these were very special kids. And he had the feeling that if something happened to them, Spike would be the least of his worries. Sweet little Rose would probably take him apart a piece at a time.

"Stop," the twins ordered, in perfect unison. And something in the inflection of their voices caused Oz to take them seriously. As they came towards him on the backswing, he caught them with his arms.

"What's the deal?" Oz asked quietly.

"That man over there is thinking about you, Oz," Ariel murmured.

"Which man?" The park was a busy place, and there were plenty of people of both sexes and all ages.

"The one that's standing half way behind that tree," Alaric clarified. "He thinks he remembers seeing you somewhere else."

"Sunnydale," Ariel affirmed. "He's a bad man, Oz."

Oz started lifting them out of the swings. "What say we head back for home?" he suggested. The man had been too far away for him to see clearly, and there were too many people in between for him to catch a scent. And a bad man from Sunnydale didn't really narrow things down. Every nasty sort you could think of had been drawn to the hellmouth. But if the twins were right, and he had no reason to doubt that they were, it would probably be best if they were to make fast tracks.

&&&&&&&

Nathan watched the man grab the kids and rabbit off. He wondered what had put the wind up him. He was pretty sure he hadn't been seen, and he'd only seen the man from a distance. Perhaps it wasn't the same person, and something else had spooked him. He shrugged. His business wasn't with him at present anyway. He had other matters to attend to.

&&&&&&&&&

Angel tried to make heads or tails of the document he was perusing, but try as he might, he just couldn't make any sense out of it. It almost looked like it had been written in a foreign language. He paged his temp.

When she entered his office, he started right in. "Alicia, do you even use the spell checker when you type up documents?" he asked.

"Oh, I don't really need it, sir," she said airily. "I'm a very good speller. Even with the Latin in the legal terms."

"Then what exactly is this?" He handed her the document.

She paled a moment, then blushed rose red. "Oh no," she moaned. "I must have had my right hand on the wrong keys."

"Fix it," Angel ordered shortly. "And next time, look at what you've done before you lay it on my desk." He turned back to the rest of his paperwork. He really was missing Harmony.

&&&&&&&

"I don't know," Fred said, munching on her sandwich as she and Rose sat at lunch. "There just seems to be something missing."

Rose glanced down at her person, since that was what they had been discussing. "I'm pretty sure that I'm fully clothed, Fred," she answered. "What else could be missing? My briefcase? I don't usually bring it to lunch."

"The kids." Fred snapped her fingers. "It's been so long since I've seen you anywhere without them that you just don't look right all alone."

"It does feel a little strange, spending so much time away from them," Rose mused. "But they are going to have to meet more people than just those that work at Wolfram and Hart. And I can't put them in a daycare center. Can you imagine the looks I'd get if I told them they get a cup of blood in the afternoon before their naps? They'd probably call the police on me."

"Or have you committed," Fred remarked. "How are they taking staying with a nanny?"

"Very well, really," Rose admitted. "They already adore Oz. And he seems to be good at dealing with them." She giggled. "You should have seen the look in his eyes when the children told me he was a werewolf. He obviously doesn't know what goes on in this place if he thinks that's a big deal."

"You've got to admit that your kids would creep a lot of people out," Fred commented. "Including some of the ones here. Most people don't feel comfortable with having their minds read."

"You're looking at one of them," Rose muttered. "And Spike is another. Don't get me wrong, we love them, but sometimes, they peek into our heads at the most inopportune times."

"What do the doctors say about them?" Fred inquired.

"That physically, they are typical, healthy eighteen month old children," Rose replied. "As for the other stuff, they won't even begin to speculate. I think they'd like to lock my babies in a lab and experiment on them." She looked a trifle alarmed at the thought, even though nothing had come of it, so far.

"Angel wouldn't let them do that," Fred assured her. "Nobody, certainly no child should be a lab rat. But you couldn't very well take them to a human doctor. Not knowing who or what they are, they'd be running tests all over the place just to try to figure out why they drink blood."

"Have you and Wesley discussed having children?" Rose decided to get off the topic of hers. If she avoided thinking about them as much as possible, then she didn't miss them quite so much. But they'd been the center of her activities since they'd been born, and creating a little distance, however necessary was a wrench.

"We decided that we're not ready," Fred answered. "I'm not sure we ever will be. We're both so busy that we just thought it wouldn't be fair to our kids."

"It's a shame," Rose commiserated. "I think you'd make a good mother, Fred." And in the back of her mind was the thought that Wesley would apologize profusely to her for spoiling her children once he had some of his own.

&&&&&&&&

"What do you think about it?" Angel asked. He swept the staff in a low arc.

Spike nimbly hopped over it. "That was pretty damn lame," he commented. "As to what I think, I think that you try to see things that aren't there. There is such a thing as coincidence, you know." He tried to jab his staff into Angel's midsection, but Angel was ready for it and flipped it away with his own staff.

"I have trouble believing in coincidence when it comes to your kids," Angel went on, making a lightning strike attack, which Spike parried. "I mean, doesn't it seem a little strange that someone as suitable as Oz should show up just at the time when Rose decides to go back to work?"

Spike aimed a blow at Angel's head, which Angel ducked. "There isn't much of anything that seems strange to me after spending a few years living on a hellmouth," he replied. "Guess after all I've seen, having wolf-boy show up just when we needed someone to look after the kids is no big deal."

"And I think you're too ready to take things on faith that should be questioned." Angel swung his staff again, and connected with Spike's ribs, barely. Spike dodged and blocked the shot, just not quite quickly enough.

"I think you're a nancy-boy who spends too much time brooding," Spike snapped. "Bloody well get over it, will you? Yeah true, Oz showed up just when we needed him. But a lot of other people showed up too. Suppose Rose had hired one of them before Oz came along?" He used his staff almost like a pole-vaulter would, to launch himself at Angel, and his feet caught Angel squarely in the chest, knocking him over.

"That move wasn't by the book," Angel complained. "I think you cracked a couple of my ribs."

"I never read the book," Spike remarked with a smirk. "You want a hand up, or are you just going to lay there until you heal?"

&&&&&&&

"Oz staying to dinner again?" Spike asked, coming up behind Rose as she stood at the stove and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"It was the children's idea this time," Rose replied. "But I didn't see anything wrong with it. Do you have a problem with it, love?"

"Not as long as he can stand your cooking, pet," Spike teased. While she had been on her extended leave, Rose had put some effort into learning how to cook, and could do a creditable, if not outstanding job of it. He rested his head on her shoulder, just breathing in the scent of her.

Rose stopped what she was doing for a moment to lean back a bit and close her eyes, just reveling in the feeling of being in her beloved's arms. Then, she straightened back up. "I'll never get dinner done with you hanging on me like that," she said fondly. "And some of us do have to eat."

"Sure you don't want me to lend a hand?" Spike asked. He just liked being around her, and any excuse would do. Or even no excuse at all, except that he liked being around her.

"I'm sure," Rose replied. "I appreciate that you want to help just to be near me, darling, but the fact of the matter is that when you help, it usually takes me twice as long as if I just do it myself. It must be because you insist on stopping to kiss me all the time."

"What difference can a few minutes make?" Spike gave her earlobe a playful nip, but then dutifully started to leave.

"The difference between dinner and a burnt sacrifice," Rose answered. She picked up a wooden spoon and smacked his backside with it. Before she could put it down again, Spike was back with his arms around her.

"You keep doing things like that, luv," he warned. "And I'm not going to care if the kids are still up and Oz is here. Because dinner will be very late indeed." He spun her around to face him so he could kiss her, and made quite a thorough job of it.

The kiss was finally interrupted by a hissing sound coming from the stove.

"I think you've got something boiling over, sweetheart," Spike remarked, finally releasing her.

"I know," Rose replied. "And I think the spaghetti is boiling over too." She turned down the heat on the burner.

"I guess I'll just have to go on simmer till later as well," Spike said ruefully. "I'll leave you to it then, babe."


	5. Enter Singing

Enter Singing

The coven's problem was that they were all new to this. A group of people who had basically said, this sounds like a good idea. Not one of them had the slightest notion what they were doing. None with any experience in the mystic arts. Just a group of like minded individuals with an agenda. Nathan professed not to know any more than the rest of them, but he seemed more comfortable with the rituals, and it was he who had found the spell. The spell to heal the earth. They were immensely excited by this undertaking, and it never once occurred to them that given their total lack of expertise that they were reaching for something that was far beyond their grasp. Or that even white magic could go awry with disastrous results. And, if by chance, one of them did have a moment where reality asserted itself, Nathan was there to chase it away. Nathan was very good at that. He'd had a lot of practice. Besides, it was fun.

&&&&&&&

When Wesley entered Rose's office (with, it must be admitted, more administrative paperwork), he was rather perplexed to hear an irregular, almost desultory click, click at the computer keyboard instead of the rapid, steady tempo of a practiced typist. Then, it stopped altogether as Rose bent over a page, peering at it intently as though she could make neither head nor tail of it. Which shouldn't be the case. Rose was well practiced with the routine chores.

"Is something wrong, Rose?" It wasn't just that he was only getting her back three days a week and therefore wanted to get what work out of her he could. Wes considered Rose a friend, and was genuinely concerned.

"Oh, nothing serious," Rose replied with a wan smile. "Just a bit of this and that."

"What sort of this and that?" he asked, sitting on the edge of her desk and thereby letting her know that he wasn't going anywhere until he got some answers.

"Well," Rose said hesitantly. Would he accept part of the truth as the whole? "Spike had one of his bad nights last night. The ones where he remembers.., the burning." Rose stopped a moment with a sympathetic shudder. She loved Spike more than life itself, and hated to think of him suffering in any way. "He hasn't had one in a long time, but it's.., disconcerting to say the least, to be awakened by someone screaming in the bed next to you."

"What else?" Wesley was relentless and he could tell by the shifty expression that Rose wasn't liar enough to hide, that there was more.

Rose took a quick look at Wes' face and realized he wasn't going to let matters drop. "It's Oz," she burst out suddenly.

"Isn't he working out?" Wesley was surprised. Oz was incredibly adaptable and eminently unflappable. He'd have thought him the perfect person to watch after the twins.

"Oh, he's working out wonderfully well," Rose muttered. She looked away a moment and Wesley heard an ill-disguised sniff. "The children asked me to invite him to dinner last night, and he was almost the only person they talked to. When they got up this morning, they started talking about Oz before he even got there." There was another sniffle. "My babies were so happy to see him that they could hardly be bothered to kiss me good-bye."

"Rose," Wesley said gently. "Are you afraid that Oz is going to take your place in your children's affections?"

"I don't know," Rose replied miserably, swiping a wrist across her eyes. "It's just.., a few days ago they'd never even met Oz, and now he seems to be the center of their universe."

"Oz is new to them, different," Wesley pointed out. "They haven't met very many people outside of this little piece of the universe. The older they get, the more you're going to find this happening, Rose. But that doesn't change the fact that you'll always be their mother. Why don't you try talking to them? With all the mind reading they do, they've become remarkably perceptive, but it still may never have occurred to them that adults need reassured that they're loved too."

"I'm being very silly about this, aren't I?" she asked a little shamefacedly. "But aside from Spike, they're more precious to me than anyone in the world. And I hate feeling like they don't love me as much as they used to."

Wesley sighed. He'd given it his best shot. Then, he remembered something, a requirement of the job, to be sure, but it might also help alleviate Rose's heartache. "Since you've just gotten back from leave," he said. "You have to do a screening with Lorne as soon as he can fit you into his schedule."

&&&&&&&

Lorne pushed away a few other items to make time to do Rose's screening immediately. He would have even if Wes hadn't called him and dropped a hint that Rose was having a few difficulties making the transition from stay at home full time mom to working mother.

What he saw when Rose came in the door of his office, however, threw him for a loop. He couldn't remember when he'd last seen her without a sparkle in her eye. But it wasn't there now. She seemed so disconsolate that he forgot about the reading, for the time being. He stood up and opened his arms, and Rose flung herself into them.

&&&&&&&&

Lorne strode into Angel's office without knocking. "I just did a reading on Rose," he announced, then headed for the bar.

Angel massaged the bridge of his nose. Why was it that whenever Lorne did a reading on Rose, it meant trouble on the offing. He idly wondered if the trouble could be averted by excusing Rose from the periodic screenings. Probably not. "Well," he sighed. "Who's after her now? I guess I should be grateful that she hasn't been kidnapped since she was pregnant with the twins."

Lorne shook his head. "It doesn't work that way, Angelface," he replied, gulping down.., something blue. "What I mean to say, is that it doesn't look like anyone is after her, this time. But someone close to her, but not in her immediate family is in danger. On a guess, I'd say that means one of us."

"Then I guess everybody sings until you find out who's in danger," Angel remarked. He had to admit, that little though he liked to see any of his friends in peril, it was a refreshing change of pace that it wasn't Rose this time. "Should I include Oz on the list?"

Lorne pondered it for a moment. "We could ask, I suppose," he replied dubiously. "I don't think you can make it a command performance since he isn't technically on Wolfram and Hart's payroll."

"We'll see what he says." Angel picked up the phone and called the senior partner's suite.

&&&&&&&&

When Oz arrived in Angel's office, Angel immediately took the children by the hands to lead them off to the other side of the room and give Lorne a little space to work.

"Just don't give them any candy, okay?" Oz requested. "Rose will skin me alive."

"I won't," Angel promised. He didn't have to worry about breaking a promise. He'd already given the kids the candy before Oz had asked him not to. He turned back to the twins and held a finger to his lips.

"What should I sing?" It seemed to Lorne that everyone asked that question the first time.

"Anything at all, wizard," Lorne replied. "I heard that you used to be with a band. Why don't you sing me one of your tunes?"

Oz thought a few minutes. "This one was never performed. I wrote it after.., I went away." A leave taking that had nearly torn his soul apart.

Willow

You've taken me through changes, baby

And never left my side

I thought we'd be together, maybe

Till there was neither time nor tide

Your eyes see into my soul

You're the other half that makes me whole

The sands of time I now sift through

Eternity is done

All that's left is you

The night is dark, the moon is full

The secret that I hide

The time is late, I feel its pull

The wolf shall be my guide

Your eyes see into my soul

You're the other half that makes me whole

The sands of time I now sift through

Eternity is done

All that's left is you

The sun is rising, day is near

It's been a wild ride

Another day, another year

Yet only you abide

Your eyes see into my soul

You're the other half that makes me whole

The sands of time I now sift through

Eternity is done

All that's left is you

"He's singing about a witch," Ariel whispered to Angel.

"I know," Angel murmured. Oz was a reminder of the old proverb about still waters running deep. It also hit him with a jolt that a lot of that song could have been about how he felt about Buffy.

Lorne sniffed. "If you'd write them and Rosebud would sing them," he remarked. "We'd all be rich." He turned to Angel. "He's in it, but peripherally. He's not the one that's in danger." He turned back to Oz. "I hope I don't have to say to be careful when the blue moon hits, do I?"

&&&&&&&

"I just did my piece a couple of weeks ago," Spike complained. True, Lorne's reading had said that it wasn't going to be one of Rose's immediate family, but a reading on Spike could still help pinpoint things, and Angel had included him on the list.

"You know, Spike, if you ever once just did as you're told without bitching about it first, I think I'd drop dead from the shock," Angel said evenly, even though what he really wanted to do was to let him have it upside his head. "Just go sing for Lorne. Everyone in the group is doing it. Even Oz did a piece."

"Since when did Oz work for you?" Spike demanded suspiciously. "Last I looked, he was working for me and Rose. Not you, you big dumb git."

"Lorne saw danger for someone close to Rose," Angel replied. When Spike started looking alarmed, he hastily added, "But not to anyone in her immediate family. Oz is close to her now in that he's taking care of the kids. And before you get up on your high horse again, let me inform you that I didn't make Oz' reading a command performance. I asked. Nicely."

"Hmmph." Spike shot Angel a dirty look. "You'd stake yourself before you'd ask me nicely, wouldn't you," he grumbled. "All right, I'll go croon a tune to the green demon. But because there are some people around here I do care about. You not being one of them."

"Just as long as you do it," Angel said tiredly. "I really don't give a rat's ass why."

&&&&&&&

"It's only a week and a half till the blue moon," Jason muttered. "And we still don't have a plan to get the vampire to the spell location."

"I hear that he fancies himself something of a crusader," Nathan murmured reflectively. "Helping the helpless or some such rot. If he truly believed that, he wouldn't be at Wolfram and Hart. But it might work to decoy him to the place at the right time. Just a word at the right time telling him that someone will be in danger there ought to bring him running."

"Marcy, you're a writer," Jason remarked. "Why don't you put your head to work thinking of a plausible story. It's got to be serious enough that he'll come, but not so serious that he'll bring reinforcements."

That was the quality that Nathan liked about Jason. He had all the earmarks of a leader. Except good sense and intelligence. Which made him the perfect puppet. And Nathan was the puppetmaster.

"We know that it's going to be on the full moon," Alex Jeffries commented. "But exactly what time?"

"At midnight, of course," Nathan replied. "All the best spells are performed at midnight."

&&&&&&&

Lorne popped into Rose's office just as she was getting ready to leave. "I went the extra mile for you today, blossom," he started. "I got the moppets to sing to me. And I hope it takes a weight off your shoulders when I tell you that you're still number one on their hit parade. And the Spikester, of course."

"Are you sure?" Rose felt a wave of relief sweep over her. "I know I was getting carried away, Lorne, but..,"

"No buts, sugarplum," Lorne interrupted. "Now why don't you go on home and let them know how much you love them?"

&&&&&&&&&

"Isn't it time the kids were in bed, pet?" Spike suggested. The sooner they went to bed, the sooner they'd be asleep, he hoped. He did have a few plans for later on.

Rose was sitting with the children cuddled on her lap, reading to them. "We just wanted to finish this chapter first, darling," she said apologetically. Actually, the twins had expended enough energy during the day that they were about to nod off now, but she just wanted to hold them a little longer.

"Who wants to finish the chapter?" Spike asked. "They're all but out now, luv. Why don't you let me give you a hand tucking them up for the night?"

"All right," Rose agreed, albeit reluctantly. Her disappointment didn't last though. She'd put in her three days this week. The rest of the week was hers. And theirs.


	6. A Pinch of What?

A Pinch of What?

After, quite a while after the twins had been tucked into their beds, resembling nothing so much as the cherubs hanging from the overhead mobile, Spike pulled Rose into his arms, snuggling her close.

"You mind telling me what you were on about tonight, pet?" he asked, stroking her hair. He had a pretty good idea, Lorne had talked to him when he'd showed up for his reading. But he wanted to hear it from Rose herself.

"What are you talking about?" Rose murmured evasively.

"Remember how I was when you first got pregnant?" Spike decided to go with the diplomatic approach, point out that everyone, even him, made mistakes. "The way I wanted to do everything for you, and keep an eye on every little thing you did? 'Cause that's how you were being with the kids tonight, and I want to know why."

"Surely I wasn't that bad," she protested weakly. "Besides, I've never spent so much time away from them before, and I've missed them and..,"

"You're afraid that Oz is going to take your place," Spike finished, tired of dancing around the subject. "Sweetheart, that isn't going to happen. Those kids adore you. Almost as much as I do."

"Who told you?" Besides wanting to change the subject, Rose really wanted to know.

"How many people know?" Spike was shocked, and a little miffed. "Besides me, I mean. Me being the last person to know what's going on with the woman I share my entire life with."

"I was afraid you'd think I was being silly," Rose mumbled, still not answering the question. "I didn't want to disappoint you.., again."

Spike gave a sad little laugh. "That's part of the deal, luv," he remarked. "We'll disappoint each other from time to time, can't help it. But if you think I could be disappointed in you for loving our kids, well guess again." He gave her a squeeze. "The only part of the whole deal that I'm disappointed in is that you didn't talk to me about it first. Something that was that important to you, and you shut me out."

Rose lay there silently. She honestly couldn't think of anything to say. And now, to top it all off, she felt terribly..,

"And you're not to lay awake there feeling guilty half the night," Spike interrupted her train of thought. "People make mistakes. It's part of being human. Now, why don't you roll over and give me a kiss, babe?"

&&&&&&&

Nathan rolled off of Melody (another of the coven's members), sweating, panting, and feeling as if his heart was about to pound a hole in his chest. No matter what he'd like to think, he simply wasn't a young man anymore. But Melody was easily the most intelligent of the group, and this was the one way he'd found to distract her. Keep what brain she had from working properly. Okay, so she really wasn't all that bright, just in comparison to the rest.

Melody snuggled up to him. "You went away again," she accused. "You say that you're not using me, but you never seem to be all here with me."

"Of course I am," he lied automatically. Lying came to him almost as naturally as breathing. "I was thinking about you, my dear." And that, was not a lie. He just left out the part that what he was thinking about her was less than flattering.

"Were you really?" Her voice bubbled over. "Tell me what you were thinking."

"How beautiful you are and how lucky I am that you'll have an old man like me." Nathan laid it on thick, knowing that she'd lap it up.

"You're not old," she protested. "Besides, I like a more mature man. I'll bet you didn't look this good twenty years ago. A lot of men look better the older they get."

"And so you're bedding me for my good looks?" he teased. Still, he liked the thought that she found him attractive, damned nuisance though she was.

Even in the dark, he could feel her pout. "You know better than that, Nathan," she muttered sulkily. "I sleep with you because I think we were meant to be together. I think we're soul mates."

Nathan was about to remark that a soul was a highly overrated thing when he realized that such a remark would probably not go down well. "Time will tell," he murmured evasively.

"Why aren't you leading the coven?" she asked out of the clear blue. "Don't get me wrong, I think Jason is doing a good job. I just think that you could do it better."

"As you said, Jason is doing a good job," Nathan rejoined. He had deliberately kept in the background as much as possible and still be able to guide the fledgling coven to his own particular goal. "And I believe that you Yanks have a saying to the effect that if it isn't broken, don't repair it. It isn't broken, so I'm not looking to do any repairs."

"Fix it," she corrected him with a giggle. She loved the way he talked though. "The saying is, 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'."

"I'll fix you," he said warningly. But what his hands were doing had very little to do with fixing someone, and a great deal to do with arousing them. Ah, the sacrifices that one had to make.

&&&&&&&&

Lorne made his way to Angel's office. He'd put away a bicarb on general principles before leaving his own office. He'd been putting it off, but there was no one left. The only light on the horizon was that if a demon would ever be allowed into heaven, he was a shoe in. He certainly did penance every time he had to listen to Angel sing.

"You're up, big guy," he announced in as cheery a voice as he could manage as he breezed into the office. "From every one else, I got pretty much the same as I did from the blossom. Which I'm afraid is narrowing it down considerably."

"Then why should I bother singing?" Angel didn't like to sing much more than anyone liked to hear him. "If no one else is the target, it must be me."

"Au contraire," Lorne disagreed. "It could be either one of us. And I can't do a reading on myself, more's the pity. Okay, so the safe money says it's probably you. But better safe than sorry." And if they could protect him, Angel would be safe, and he'd be sorry that he'd had to listen to him sing.., again.

Angel sighed and started what passed for singing with him. He didn't even think about it, hadn't consciously picked out a song. A good old Irish tune that had sprung into his head because he'd heard Alaric and Ariel singing it. And making a round out of the chorus. "The gypsy rover came over the hill, and down through the valley so shady. He whistled and he sang till the green woods rang. And he won the heart of a lady."

"That ties it down," Lorne interrupted. He'd heard the wee tikes sing it too. And much better than the boss. He didn't want the song ruined in his mind by Angel's vocal mangling. "It is you. Someone wants your blood. Literally."

"My blood?" Angel was feeling more than a little confused. "What would someone want my blood for? Or did you mean that in the sense that someone has a grudge against me and would like to dust me?"

"There seems to be a spell of some sort involved," Lorne muttered, brow furrowed in thought. "But it starts getting murky from there. That and something about the blue moon."

"You warned Oz about the blue moon," Angel remarked. "I can see where having two full moons in a month could be a problem for a werewolf. But why would a blue moon make any difference to me?"

Lorne shrugged. "I'm just telling you what I see," he replied. "And what I see says that there's something about a blue moon connected to all of this."

&&&&&&&&

Oz was back in the coffee shop with a newspaper again. But this time, instead of looking for a job, he was looking for a place to live. He liked his new situation better than he'd thought he would, and it might be nice to put down roots for a while, at least. He wasn't too serious about looking yet, though. He wanted to gather in a few more paychecks before he got serious about finding a place. But, it didn't hurt to look and see what was on the market. And all it cost was the price of a paper.

&&&&&&

"Darling," Rose said at dinner that evening. "Would you like to go pick a fight with Angel for me?"

Spike's eyes nearly popped out of his head. Usually, Rose was trying, however futilely, to get them to stop fighting. He would never in a million years have dreamed that she'd actually ask him to pick a fight with his grandsire. "I don't see a problem with that," he said cautiously, trying to hide his enthusiasm for the suggestion, but still wary as to what had prompted it. "Just on general principle, or do you have a specific reason?"

"The pictures we had taken came in to the studio," she explained. "So I asked if he'd have someone pick them up for me. Not only did he go and do it himself, but he paid for them. And he won't let me pay him back."

"I see." Spike had, once upon a time, had no problem with spending Angel's money. Now, it had become a matter of pride not to accept any financial help. Especially as they didn't really need it. But he had something else on his mind. "Where are they?"

"What?" Rose lost track of things for a moment. "Oh, the pictures. They're in the living room on top of the entertainment center."

Spike had to go look immediately. Despite all his fretting and fussing over the whole thing, he was now anxious to see how they'd come out. Besides, there ought to be some wallet sized snaps of the kids in the package. He was always ready to update the pictures in his wallet. He'd shown off the last ones to death.

Rose joined him.

"Shouldn't one of us be in there supervising the kids?" Spike suggested. Mealtimes were one way they had of not forgetting that the twins were still toddlers, even though they often spoke, and sometimes even acted like little adults. Sure to make a bloody awful mess if left to their own devices.

"I haven't even peeked once yet," Rose said. "Because I wanted to wait for you. So don't you dare look at them without me."

"How about a compromise?" Spike offered. "We'll go into the kitchen with them and we'll all look at them together."

They had turned out wonderfully well. As the photographer had said, they were a good looking group. There was even one where Alaric was still sulking over wearing a tie. But the photographer had taken solo portraits of all of them, and even paired them off in all possible combinations. And the one that caught Spike's eye wasn't one with the kids. It was him and Rose together, with their love for each other writ plain as print on their faces.

Rose nudged him out of his reverie. "Stop hogging them," she scolded. "Are you going to go argue with Angel about them like I asked?"

"Would tomorrow be soon enough, babe?" Spike asked. "I've been working all day. I'd really like to spend a little quality time with you and the kids. Tomorrow I can go bother the big pouf on company time."

&&&&&&&

"That isn't vervain," Nathan argued. "It's wolfsbane, and it doesn't belong in the spell." He'd forgotten he wasn't supposed to know these things. Though how anyone could not tell the difference was beyond him.

"The shop said it was vervain," Barry protested. "And I don't know one herb from the other. Since you're the expert, why don't you do it?"

"How did you know the difference, Nathan," asked Deb. "I thought you were as new to this as the rest of us."

"Unlike you, evidently," Nathan replied, quickly covering his mistake. "I've been doing some studying on the subject."

"I'm still having a little problem locating the black candles," David said. "You just don't see them everywhere. When people want candlelight, they usually want a more cheerful color than black."

"And I don't suppose that it occurred to you to check an occult supply shop?" Nathan felt relieved that Jason had stepped up to the plate for that one. He was quite losing patience with this lot.

"Well, duh," Jessica said with a giggle. She'd had the easy chore. Her contribution to the spell had been rosemary, which she grew in her own herb garden.

"We're never going to get anywhere bickering," Marcy commented. "There's still a week to go. We have time to get the proper components."

"But we have to make sure we get them right," Nathan felt obliged to point out. "The spell won't work if we don't have the proper components. Just like cooking. If you want the dish to come out right, you have to have the right ingredients."

"We'll have them," Jason said soothingly. "Get with the program, people. I thought everyone had gotten what they were supposed to, and that all we needed was the vampire's blood. Now I find out we're not even that prepared. Do you want this to work or not?"

There were shamefaced looks and muttered apologies.

"Are we going to meet again before the night of the spell casting?" Angela asked. "Just to make sure we have everything right?"

Jason nodded. "How's Wednesday with everyone?"

&&&&&&&&

The children had long since been tucked into bed. But Spike was still going through the pictures. He liked that one of his two girls, too. Ariel was just a miniature version of her mum. Whatever he thought his life, if he'd ever have one again, three years ago would be like, he'd never in his wildest dream imagined this. Or that he'd be so happy.


	7. I'll Be Looking at the Moon

I'll Be Looking at the Moon

"Rose, this is your lucky day, so to speak." Wesley came into her office unannounced. Most people did. "You can put the administrative work aside, for the moment. I need all available hands on research."

Rose blinked, trying to process the information. Truth to tell, she hadn't been really working. They'd been to a carnival over the weekend (at night, of course) and the fun they'd all had. Including that big stuffed tiger that now occupied her and Spike's bedroom. The twins who were usually all too willing to share everything, had broken out into an argument over whose it was, and Spike (who had won the thing) had decreed that since they couldn't be nice about it, he was going to give it to Rose. "Beg pardon?" she said, trying to gather her wits about her. "Did I just hear you say that I'm off the routine paperwork?"

"For the time being," Wesley replied. "I want you to start searching for the sort of spell that requires the blood of a vampire that is pure of heart."

Rose paled a bit at that announcement.

"It's Angel," Wes hastened to assure her, although he realized that it would be of little comfort. Rose and Angel were almost like brother and sister. "There was also some mention of a blue moon."

"It might help," Rose suggested. "If I knew what a blue moon was. I mean, I've heard the expression, once in a blue moon, but other than that it means a long time, I don't know what it is."

"A blue moon is when there are two full moons in a month," Wesley explained. "Like this one, unfortunately. And they only occur about once every three years."

"I see." Rose understood why the phrase had come into being, but she still didn't understand why it would be called a blue moon. Humans had some strange notions sometimes. But now was obviously not the time to go into it. Angel was in danger. "How are you dividing things up?"

"I'm putting you and myself on the demon languages," Wes informed her. "The rest are all doing various human languages. But you and I are the only people in the department with any true proficiency in demon languages."

"How are we going to split it up?" Rose asked. "Alphabetically?"

Wes paused to consider. Things weren't really evenly weighted when gone at that way. "Tell you what," he replied. "I'll start at the beginning of the alphabet, you start at the end, and I'll meet you in the middle. Unless, of course, someone finds the spell before then."

"If it's this serious," Rose commented. "Then maybe I'd better ask Oz if he can come on full time. At least until the current crisis is solved. You aren't going to want me just dropping everything in the middle of the week."

Wesley breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't quite had the nerve, or the heart, to ask, especially in light of how Rose had been behaving the week before. But obviously she'd worked things out, and he couldn't deny that she'd be useful. "If Oz accepts it would be most useful," he answered. "Would you mind ringing him up right now?"

&&&&&&&

Oz was a little startled to hear the phone ring. It hadn't once since he'd been here, they must have an unlisted number, or something even better. There hadn't even been calls from telemarketers with their random dialing. He looked at the twins. "Can you tell who it is?" he asked.

Ariel shook her head.

"We don't know where the person is," Alaric explained. "So we can't tell."

Oz shrugged and picked up the phone. "Hello? Yeah, we're cool here. Full time? I don't have a problem with it." There was a long pause. Evidently Rose was explaining the situation to him. "We'll be fine, Rose. Don't worry about us." He hung up, and turned to the kids. "Looks like I'm going to be here every day for a while," he informed him.

"Yippee!" said Ariel. "Will you play your guitar for us, Oz?"

&&&&&&&&

Angel had taken to spending lunch hours working out, sparring with Spike. It wasn't as if lunch took that long, for them. Today, it was bare hands, which tended to create a lot of bruises, but it helped them both work a lot of things out, even if neither one of them would admit it.

"So that's what the readings were all about," Spike remarked, making a flying tackle, and missing, and rolling out of the way just in time to miss being kicked in the ribs.

"It started with Rose," Angel replied, making the mistake of trying the same thing twice. He tried kicking again before Spike could get up, but Spike caught his foot and gave it a twist, sending him to the mat. "She had a mandatory screening because she'd just returned to work."

Spike let Angel get up. True, kicking someone when they were down was often effective, but he'd just proven that it wasn't, much, when the person was expecting it. "So what exactly did Lorne see?"

"That someone close to, but not immediately related to Rose was in danger," Angel explained. He ducked just in time to keep Spike from landing one on him.

"So that's what started it." Spike aimed a kick at Angel's head, but Angel jerked it aside just in time. "But it isn't exactly news that you're in danger. Dangerous line of work, innit?"

"It's a bit more complicated than that," Angel replied. He swung his foot around and caught Spike in the stomach, which had to hurt, but didn't really slow him down much. It would have at least winded a human. "Someone wants my blood, presumably for some sort of spell. And there was something to do with a blue moon."

"Would have thought that blue moons were more of wolf-boy's concern," Spike remarked, landing one on Angel's jaw. "'Course some spells have special times they have to be performed. I suppose that the Watcher has Rose looking for the spell?"

"He said he was going to put his entire department on it," Angel answered. He winced as Spike came around from behind and kicked him in the small of the back. "So I would assume that means Rose, as well."

"I would say that being off the routine stuff would probably put her in a bit better mood, she hates the bureaucratic muck that Percy stuck her with," Spike mused. "'Cept for the fact that you're in danger. Can't see what she sees in you, ya big ponce."

"Join the club," Angel shot back. He feinted a punch, and when Spike moved to block it, came up with his other fist and caught Spike on the ear. "No one knows what she sees in you, either."

Spike rubbed his ear ostentatiously. "Damn thing's going to be ringing the rest of the day, you bloody git," he complained. Angel took advantage of his preoccupation and caught him in the ribs with a foot.

&&&&&&&&

The twins were down for their nap, and Oz was taking a well-deserved breather. They'd sung for hours, and the twins had chattered quite a bit about their trip to the carnival. Oz liked talking to them, though. They had a vocabulary way beyond their years, which made it easier for him to appreciate their fresh outlook on life. Though there'd been a couple of times already when they'd started sharing viewpoints that he didn't want to know about, and was pretty sure that their parents would be happier if they didn't know about. He was also wondering about the threat to Angel. He wondered if Rose would fill him in on the rest of it when she got home, then decided that it was highly unlikely. She wouldn't want to upset the kids, which they certainly would be if they knew their adored 'uncle' was in danger. He sorta wished he could do something to help, then realized that in a way, he was. Just by staying with the kids and thereby freeing up Rose to do her part.

And now, since it was the first time since he'd arrived that he had time to really look around, he noticed the new pictures on the wall. Having nothing better to do, and being curious, he walked over to inspect them. He had to admit that they were a good-looking family. The one he paused at though, was the one of Spike and Rose. Spike with his arms around her, looking down at her, Rose looking up at him and obviously very much in love. He bit the inside of his cheek, trying to distract himself from his own thoughts, of Willow, and how it had been, and how it could have been. He sighed. With the blue moon coming this weekend, screwing with his internal wolf, as it were, he'd better hit the meditation.

&&&&&&&

"By the way, Peaches," Spike said, as they were leaving the practice room. "I'll be up to your office later to pay you for those pictures."

Angel looked a little uncomfortable. He should have known that Rose would tell Spike. Especially after the heated discussion they'd had about it. "Just give me a couple of pictures of the kids and we'll call it even."

"Sod that," Spike growled. "You're gonna get the pictures anyway, not my decision. But you're also going to take the bloody money, or I'll shove it down your throat. I can look after my own family, thank you very much."

Angel sighed. "Early Christmas present?" he suggested.

"Christmas is a long way off," Spike pointed out. "And I don't seem to recall you ever givin' me a present anyway. So you'll bloody well take the money and like it." He unbent enough to give Angel a conspiratorial look. "Listen, you stupid wanker, it's not just me. I'm under orders here, and I have to live with her."

"Lie to her?" Angel didn't think that suggestion would take, and he was right.

"I haven't lied to Rose yet," Spike snapped. "Leastways not over anything important. And while I consider you far from important, I'm not starting a trend here."

Angel gave up. "All right, I'll let you pay me back," he sighed. "Did they turn out good?"

&&&&&&&

Nathan started going through his own stores of spell components. He had most of the requisite items, except the vampire, of course. But since he was playing at being as innocent as his fellow coven members, he could hardly admit to having them all. But he'd bring them along the night of the spell casting, just in case. If this missed, there wouldn't be a second chance. A Faznair demon the size of a small house was nothing to quibble with, and if the spell didn't go right, he wouldn't be able to control it. And since he would be the one casting the spell, he would probably be the demon's first victim. Not only was he in no hurry to die, but if he was going to the trouble to raise the demon, he wanted to be around to enjoy the ensuing chaos. It had been a while since he'd been able to be up to this sort of mischief. He wouldn't be able to still, if the Initiative hadn't been thrown into chaos, by what he wasn't sure, and didn't really care. But there had been just enough turmoil ensuing that the right paperwork had gotten screwed at the right time and voila, free as a bird. He'd homed in on Sunnydale at first, just to see what Rupert was up to and was somewhat surprised to see that there was no Sunnydale. He'd drifted to L.A. to see if any of the Slayer's gang were there to annoy in his one time friends stead, and lo and behold, the vampire with a soul. An evil smile crossed his face. If this worked out, it would all be worth it, even to working under an assumed name. He sniggered and checked the spell components again.

&&&&&&&

"So, who all besides your friend Angel gets pictures?" Spike asked that night as they were tucking the twins into bed.

"All the godparents, I should think," Rose replied. "Will you be able to take them around, darling? I'm awfully busy right now." As Oz had suspected, Rose refused to bring up the subject of impending danger to Angel in front of the children, and hoped, probably futilely that they wouldn't use other means to acquire the information. How was she supposed to protect her children from things like that when they could pick it right out of her mind?

"I guess I could do," Spike admitted. "You want to add Oz to the list? In a way, he is family. Least as much as any of them are."

Rose hadn't even considered it. "Why if he'd like," she replied. "I didn't even think of that. And to think that I thought you were getting carried away again ordering all those copies."

"Mummy looked pretty," Ariel said. The twins were fighting against sleep gamely. And they felt that they'd been left out of the conversation long enough.

"So did you, darling girl," Spike replied. If Rose had ever been a child, Ariel is what she would have looked like.

"I didn't look pretty," Alaric stated flatly. "Pretty's for girls."

"It certainly is," his father agreed, recalling a time when he'd protested at Rose calling him pretty. He kissed his daughter.

"You were very handsome." Rose bent to kiss a downy soft baby cheek. "Just like your father."

They switched places and swapped kisses again, and then turned out the lights and slipped out.

&&&&&&&

"I'm down to the c's and still nothing," Wesley said the next day. "How are things going at your end of the alphabet, Rose?"

"I'm already up to the u's," she replied. "Not as many down at this end. Not that it matters, I haven't had any more luck than you have, Wesley."

"Well, we'll just have to keep at it then," he sighed. "The rest of the department isn't finding anything either." He let his attention slip away from business for a brief moment. "There's a rumor going around that you have new pictures of the children to pass around, Rose. So, where are mine?"

"Right here." Rose reached into her desk. "Which would you like, the whole family, or just the children?"


	8. Back to Work

Back to Work

Rose was slowly working her way up the alphabet to no avail. So far, she hadn't found a single spell mentioning the blue moon or a vampire's blood. It had to be somewhere. She'd never known Lorne to see anything wrong. But the blue moon was quickly approaching, and they had to find the spell soon. To save Angel. She loved him dearly and would hate to see anything happen to him. And so, she thought, despite all his snide remarks and bickering, would Spike. And the children would be absolutely devastated. With a sigh of despair, she gritted her teeth and got on with it. No one was going to hurt Angel. Not if she had anything to say about it.

&&&&&&&

Oz was teaching the twins to read and write. They already knew the alphabet, it had been one of the first songs they had learned. He figured from there, it was just a short step to recognize the letters in written form. Their writing, of a necessity was going to be rather crude, to be sure, given that they only had a toddler's coordination. But they were smart as whips, and from listening to Rose and Spike read to them had already absorbed a remarkable amount of information, stuff most people would think was way beyond their capacity to understand. If they even believed it. Alaric and Ariel were bent over their papers, giving it, if they had but known, the same amount of grim determination as their mother was giving her current project. They were surprised that mummy hadn't thought of this. They liked it, it was fun. And soon, they would be able to read for themselves. But even though they knew they had to know the letters, it was getting a little boring. They wanted something a little more interesting.

"Tired of just the alphabet," Alaric grumbled. "I want to write something."

Oz considered for a moment. He didn't see why not, and it would start them on their way from recognizing the letters to actual words. "What would you like to write?"

"I love mummy and daddy," Ariel said promptly. "Then we can give it to them when they get home."

"And our names," Alaric demanded. "So they know who it's from." The beginnings of sibling rivalry were starting to show, as the children tried to see who could do the best job, and which one of them their parents would be more proud of.

&&&&&&&

Angel had decided to call a high level conference. He didn't want anyone excluded, and you never knew when someone who wasn't directly involved might hold the key piece of information.

"So far, none of us has located a spell which meets the specifications that were set down," Wesley said. "And we've all been working on it to the exclusion of everything else. As far as the demon languages, I'm bogged down in the d's you have no idea how many demons start with d."

"Lorne and I have all our contacts checking things for the word on the street," Gunn said. "If it's out there, we'll hear it."

"Angel, have you got that Q'xlzr demon looking for information too?" Rose asked. The little demon was something of a friend, besides being a valuable snitch.

"I haven't seen it around for a while," Angel admitted. "But I'll do some checking. The more people we have looking for information, the more likely we are to strike paydirt."

"R&D have been checking out what sort of properties the blue moon might have," Fred said. "We could use a sample of your blood too, see if there's anything special about it."

Spike sniggered, and Rose, who was sitting next to him, of course, kicked him in the ankle. Spike straightened up.

"Want a bodyguard?" he asked, all innocence, until you looked at his eyes and saw the impish gleam in them. "Can't see what else my department could do."

"I don't need a bodyguard," Angel snapped. He didn't like the thought of trusting his well-being to anyone else. Besides, most of the ops team were human. He could do better at taking care of himself than they could.

"Angel," Rose began tentatively. "I don't know whether or not this means anything, but the other day, Oz took the children to the park, and they left rather abruptly. It seems that the children picked up on the thoughts of someone who thought he recognized Oz from Sunnydale. And they said that he was a bad man."

"Doesn't exactly narrow things down, does it?" Spike remarked. "If you took all the bad people that ever passed through that place and laid them end to end, they'd go on for miles."

"Rose," Angel said with a sigh. "The next time something like that happens, will you please tell me right away? Or have Oz do it, if he's the one with the kids? Anyone that has ever committed some sort of mayhem in Sunnydale bears watching."

"I'm sorry," she apologized in a small voice. "But what with one thing and another, I just kind of forgot about it until now."

"Stop picking on her, ponce," Spike growled.

"I'm not picking on her, Spike," Angel snapped back. "But there could be a connection between the bad man from Sunnydale and whatever spell needs my blood." He thought a moment. "Rose, do you think that the kids got a good enough look at the guy that they could describe him?"

"I don't know," Rose admitted. "But we could always ask. Do you want me to call them now?"

Angel handed her his cell phone. "Yes, please."

Rose punched in the number and waited for what seemed to the listening ears around her as an eternity. Finally, she gave up. "There's no answer," she announced. "Oz must have taken them out somewhere, so I guess that we'll have to wait till later."

"Rose," Angel said. "Do you think you could go leave a note where Oz could see it? And ask him to bring the kids here to me as soon as they get back? I wouldn't ask, but we don't seem to have a lot of time."

Rose nodded, then stopped, and qualified her assent. "Only if you promise not to give them any candy."

Spike sniggered again, and Rose let it pass.

"But what if they are able to give me some help?" Angel asked, working the puppy eyes for all it was worth. "Surely they'd deserve some kind of reward then."

Rose shot him a dirty look, then buried her face in her hands. "Why don't any of you want my children to have good teeth?" she moaned.

Conspiratorial grins were exchanged all around on that one. Despite the seriousness of the situation. Or, perhaps, because of it. Sometimes you just needed something to lift the mood a little.

&&&&&&&

Oz had taken the children to a music store. As much as the pair loved music, he thought there just had to be some sort of instrument that they could play. He finally settled on a small keyboard. There were ample funds available in the 'gadding about money' to cover it. And the only other choice he could see was percussion instruments, which he guessed would probably not go over too well with their parents at this point. And while their little fingers couldn't reach to make chords yet, he could teach them to pick out a few tunes. A grin tugged at the corners of his mouth. This job was turning out to be a lot more fun than he could have imagined.

&&&&&&&&

Rose had put the note where Oz couldn't possibly miss it. She had taped it to the front door of the apartment. Oz scanned it quickly. It looked important, what with all that was going on. He shrugged and without bothering to open the door long enough to put away the shopping, said, "How would you guys like to go see Angel?"

Ariel started to smile, then, her face fell. "We can't," she pouted. "Mummy said so." Evidently, if mummy said so, it was word from on high. Which it technically wasn't, at least, not anymore.

"No, it's okay," Oz hastened to reassure her. "The note is from your mother. We're supposed to go to Angel's office."

Both little faces lit up. "Candy," Alaric said excitedly.

Oz sighed. He was beginning to see Rose's point on the whole candy deal.

&&&&&&&&

When they neared Angel's office, Oz was a little disconcerted to see Harmony. Spike had mentioned her, but what with everything else that had been going on, Oz had been on sensory overload, and the name hadn't truly registered on his consciousness. It came flooding back now. The last time he had seen Harmony, she'd been trying to bite Willow. Which in and of itself was enough to put her on his bad list. He was just about to turn the other way and take the kids to Rose's office first, when they pulled their hands out of his and dashed up to the desk.

"Auntie Harm!" They swarmed over her.

Harmony had been frowning over what the temp had done to her desk while she'd been on vacation. She couldn't find her nail polish or file, and someone, presumably the temp herself had been into her bag of candy.

But the frown turned upside down on an instant. "Hello, sweeties," she cooed, scooping them onto her lap, and giving each of them a kiss. "I missed you."

"We missed you too." Alaric looked up at her and gave her a dose of eyes. If Harmony's heart hadn't melted yet, it would have, on the spot.

Harmony gave them a squeeze. She was so excited to see them that the fact they were with someone hadn't registered yet.

"Did you bring us something, Auntie Harm?" Ariel asked, conveniently forgetting that it wasn't polite. Besides, Harm had promised.

Harmony pretended to pout. "Is that why you're being so nice to me?" she teased. "Because you want presents?"

"'Course not," Alaric scoffed. "We love you."

"We'd love you even without presents," Ariel said artfully.

"Of course I brought you something." Harmony finally relented. "I promised that I would, didn't I? But you're going to have to get down. The bag's under my desk, and I can't reach it with you guys on my lap." And it still didn't fully register on her that someone else was there when Oz helped the children down off her lap. She was intent on getting the presents out and seeing the reactions. She'd spent the week in a resort in Mexico, and her gift buying was of the typical touristy sort.

"There we are." She pulled a couple of child-sized sombreros out of the bag and set them on the twin's heads. "You are just too cute for words." Finally, she noticed that there was someone with them, and that it was neither Spike nor Rose. "Oz?"

"Hi, Harmony." No one could have told that he'd been even the slightest bit rattled at the sight of her.

"What are you doing here?" Harmony's eyes couldn't possibly have gotten any rounder at the sight of him. "And what are you doing with my babies?"

"Not babies," Alaric stated, then added, "Oz is our nanny."

Oz suppressed a sigh. They were going to have to do something about the job title. Nanny sounded just a bit.., effeminate for his tastes. Although it was probably too late, now. The kids had latched on to it, and they weren't too likely to let it go.

"That is way cool," Harmony approved. "If we get any more Sunnydale people in here, it will be like a high school reunion."

"I'd love to stick around and let you and the kids get caught up on things," Oz lied. "But Angel wants to see them about something."

Harmony pouted, but just for a moment. She fished around in her desk for a moment. "Here you go." She pressed something into their little hands.

"Rose doesn't really like everybody giving them candy all the time," Oz felt obliged to point out.

"I've been away for a whole week." It is difficult to flounce in a seated position, but Harmony managed it. "I'll give them candy if I want to." But she paused for a moment. "You won't tell Rose, will you?"

Oz sighed. Why did everybody want to complicate things? Life was complicated enough. "Tell you what," he offered. "I won't volunteer the information. But if Rose specifically asks, I'm not going to lie to her."

"Good enough, I guess," Harmony conceded. "Go on in, I think he's waiting on you. I knew he was waiting on someone, because he keeps sticking his head out that door about every ten minutes."

As if on cue, Angel stuck his head out the door. "Hi, kids," he greeted them with a smile. Then he noticed what they had on their heads, and the smile changed drastically. In fact, at that point, it was hard to tell exactly what emotions were going through his head. Sombreros were over the top enough, and these went the whole nine yards with the fancy needlework and all the other attendant decorations. They were also truly garish shades of turquoise (Ariel's) and purple (Alaric's). "My, don't you look.., special, today," he ventured weakly.

"Auntie Harm gave them to us," Alaric informed him.

"They're.., they're..," For once, Ariel had bitten off a bigger word than she could chew, so she resorted to doing it the other way. 'Souvenirs.'

Angel and Oz exchanged glances and shrugged. No accounting for tastes.


	9. Know Your Enemy

Know Your Enemy

Nathan was wandering around in the park again. Though he would be loathe to admit it, even to himself, he was keeping an eye open for a familiar face. But it was a big city, and a big park, and his chances were extremely slim, and he knew it. But he found the idea of an unexpected quantity, such as the man he had seen, a bit disturbing. The whole lot of them, Rupert, the Slayer and all her little friends were a particularly meddlesome crew. Couldn't bear to see a chap have a good time and had to come and muck it up without fail. So even though he knew it was probably an exercise in futility, he continued to scan his surroundings. Just in case.

&&&&&&&

"He was pretty far away, Uncle Angel," Alaric said apologetically. "We didn't get a good look at him."

"He had dark hair," Ariel volunteered. Even at her tender age, she realized that wasn't much to go on. "And he was taller than Oz," she added, a little weakly.

Angel chucked her under the chin. "Every little bit helps, honey," he said gently. "Maybe we're doing this wrong. You two didn't get a good look at the outside of him. What did you see inside his head?"

"He thinks it's fun to be bad," Alaric remarked. His sister poked his shoulder and they held one of their silent conferences. "He didn't sound like everybody else when he thinks," the little boy added.

Ariel nodded in agreement. "More like daddy and Uncle Wes," she elaborated.

"He's English?" Now there was something that might help narrow the search down a bit. But neither child answered him. They were busy with another telepathic conversation. "What's up now?"

"We both heard a name," Ariel explained.

"But it's not the same name," Alaric grumbled. "He can't have two names, can he?"

"He might," Oz ventured. "If he was trying to hide who he was."

"Tell me both names," Angel prompted. "Then, we'll see what we can figure out from there."

"Nathan Wayne," said Alaric.

"Ethan Rayne," Ariel supplied.

"Son of a..," Angel broke off, remembering just in time who his audience was comprised of. "Biscuit," he finished lamely.

The twins giggled.

&&&&&&&

In the comforting shadows of the storm drains, a vampire and a demon met.

"Long time no see," Angel remarked.

"I been doing job out of town," the Q'xlzr replied. "Rose okay?" It wasn't all that unlikely a question when one considered all the times that Rose had been far from okay.

"Rose is fine," Angel assured it. "Have you got time to do a quick job for me? It shouldn't last long. It looks like the blue moon is the deadline."

"I no like rush jobs, vampire," the blue-gray figure asserted. "Have to work harder. Eats into I's profits."

"I'll make sure you make a profit," Angel promised. "Someone is cooking up a spell that needs my blood. And I don't know for sure if there's a connection, but the smart money says there is, that a man calling himself Nathan Wayne may be behind it."

"Calls he's self," the Q'xlzr mused. "Not man's real name?"

"His real name is Ethan Rayne," Angel replied. He pulled out a wad of cash, knowing that the sight of it would affect the little demon quicker than catnip on a tabby tom. "Are you in?"

"I in," it sighed. But before it accepted the money, it turned and retrieved something from a nearby ledge. "You give to Rose offspring," it directed, then it took the proffered bills and melted into the shadows.

Angel peeked into the sack he'd been handed and grinned. A whole bag of candy. Rose would have a fit.

&&&&&&&&

Spike strolled into Rose's office. "Hey, babe, quitting time was twenty minutes ago. Or are you looking to pay Oz overtime?"

Rose looked up at him, then shook her head and blinked. Her eyes were practically crossed from hours on end staring at crabbed demon script. "Hello, darling," she greeted him. "I'm sorry, I was kind of preoccupied. What did you say?"

"I said it's time and then some to be calling it a day, pet," Spike said gently. "Time to lock it all up and go home and unwind with the kids."

Rose looked at the time and saw that he was right. "I'm sorry," she apologized again. "I was so busy I lost track of the time." She hurriedly began tidying up and shutting things off.

Spike noticed that despite her practiced, efficient movements, she looked all in. "Why don't we break the rules a bit tonight, luv?" he suggested. "Order out for pizza or some such. Let you put your feet up and listen to the kids tell you about their day."

Rose was about to protest, but the plain fact of the matter was, she had been working hard. Not physically hard, but a mental intensity that was just as fatiguing. "I suppose so," she agreed reluctantly. "Just don't expect me to make a habit of it."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Spike assured her, wrapping an arm around her and escorting her out of the office. "But you can't always be doing for other people without doing a bit for yourself now and again, sweetheart."

Rose leaned her head on his shoulder, and Spike planted a quick kiss on the top of it. "You're a wonderful mum, luv," he went on. "And the kids won't keel over and die if they have a less than perfectly nutritious meal every once in a while."

"If you say so," Rose conceded. "I don't know if I've mentioned it lately, but I love you."

"I love you too," he replied, as they stepped into the elevator. "This lift does take a while to get to the top," he murmured suggestively. "Don't suppose we could..,"

"Of course not," Rose interrupted, albeit with a giggle. One of the many reasons she loved him, he always made her feel better. "Spike, you're..,"

"Absolutely mad about you," he finished. "Guess I'll just have to settle for a spot of necking then." He pinned her against the wall with his body, and his lips came down on hers.

Rose's briefcase thudded to the floor.

&&&&&&&

Angel had just caught Wesley before he left the office and told him about his interview with the twins.

"Ethan Rayne?" Wesley echoed. "The name does seem to ring a bell. There was something about it in Giles' notes. I have a copy somewhere about, I'm sure."

"Get together every bit of information you can find on him," Angel ordered. "I don't know what he's done lately, but I've seen some of his handiwork. The man is bad news."

"Now that we're more or less on speaking terms," Wesley mused. "Perhaps I should ring Giles up and ask him directly."

Angel looked at the time and did a little mental calculation. "Why don't you do that in the morning, Wes?" he suggested. "It's the middle of the night there. We still have a few days."

"A few days may not be enough," the researcher pointed out. "For a problem of this magnitude, I think that perhaps a call in the dark hours might be excused."

Angel sighed. Though they were on slightly better terms now, since Giles had delivered Rose's twins, and talked with Rose herself, about what exactly, she would never say, relations were still a bit strained. Maybe they always would be. Giles could be damned stiff-necked sometimes. He shook his head. "Just hold off till morning," he reiterated. "A few more hours isn't likely to make that much difference."

"Did you ever consider the obvious?" Wes asked.

"Which obvious?" Angel queried.

"If they need your blood for their spell, and it has to be performed under the blue moon," Wesley replied. "Then the solution is simple enough. Don't go out that night. Stay here, where it's safe. Once the blue moon has passed, they won't be able to perform their spell."

"We don't even know for sure that the spell has to be performed under the blue moon," Angel pointed out. "It's just a working hypothesis. Besides, whoever had Ethan Rayne let him go, and I don't like the idea of him being at liberty to menace the public."

It was Wesley's turn to sigh. "Fine," he conceded. "I'll call Giles in the morning and get whatever information I can on Ethan Rayne. Is it all right if I go home and get a few hours sleep now?"

Angel nodded. "Go," he answered. "I have the feeling that I'm going to need you sharp and on the ball, Wes. So get rested up."

&&&&&&&

Oz met them at the door. "You're supposed to go right into their room," he started right in. "They have a surprise for you."

Spike and Rose exchanged glances, wondering just what sort of surprise it could be. Out of habit, Spike took her briefcase and put it on a shelf, out of the reach of curious little hands. Then, the two of them went to the twin's bedroom.

Alaric and Ariel had, of course, 'heard' their parents arrive, so they were prepared. They were standing dead center of the room with their handiwork held out, proudly displayed. The letters were ill-formed, but quite legible, so the first thing that Spike and Rose saw was their children, each holding a piece of paper that expressed their love for them.

The last fleeting reservations Rose had had about whether or not Oz would take her place in her children's affections vanished on the spot.

Spike was about floored. He knew the little nippers were smart as all get out, but even he would never have guessed that they were up to this. "Did you two do those all by yourselves?" he asked in awe. He knelt down in front of them and touched one of the papers as if it were incredibly precious.

"We made them for you and mummy," Ariel piped up. "Do you like them?"

"They're beautiful," Rose said. Her eyes began misting over. "They're wonderful."

"If mummy likes them so much," Alaric asked his father. "Then why is she crying?"

"Oz is leaving," Ariel said softly. "He doesn't want to int'rupt us."

Rose put a hand on Spike's shoulder. "Stay with them," she told him. "I'll be right back." She rushed out into the other room.

"Don't you dare leave yet, Oz," she ordered. The effect was somewhat marred by the fact that the happy tears she was crying showed in her voice as well as her face.

Oz turned slowly from the door, wondering what he'd done now, and was in no way prepared when Rose flung her arms around him and kissed his cheek.

"You really are a dear man," she said. "I don't know what brought you to us, Oz, but I hope you'll be staying around for a long time."

"I can't make any promises, Rose," Oz said quietly. "But if I do leave, I'll be back from time to time. Those kids are incredible. I'm kind of interested in seeing how they turn out."

"You macking on my girl, wolf-boy?" Rose should have known better than to give Spike orders. He emerged from the children's room with a twin in each arm.

Oz was pretty sure that the Spike of old would have been ready to tear his head off, just for touching Rose, even if she had been the one to initiate the contact. But he didn't sound mad or jealous, more like teasing. Since Rose hadn't let go of him yet, he returned the hug, and the kiss. "I'm trying to persuade her to run away with me and get away from all this." He carried on the jest.

The twins exchanged glances and confirmed that the men were just joking. Leaving Rose the only one who didn't get it, and it showed on her face, plain as day.

"Just having you on, luv," Spike explained, leaning around Ariel to kiss her. "If I didn't trust him, he wouldn't be looking after our kids."

"You men and your silly games," Rose muttered, taking Alaric from Spike. "I wonder that I put up with any of you."

&&&&&&&

Lorne was sitting in a bar, tossing down a few before going home. Lately, home had been getting kind of depressing. Empty, really. He hadn't really noticed it before. But he was really feeling the pressure from work, and was thinking it would be nice to have someone to come home to. Forget it, he thought. You don't have the time to work on any kind of relationship right now, even if someone dropped into your lap out of the blue.

"Hi there," a voice beside him said. "Do you mind if I sit here?"

Lorne turned and saw a pretty brunette with cascades of waist length hair sitting next to him. "Not at all, pretty lady," he said. "What are you drinking?"


	10. Relationships

Relationships

Rose was headed to her office the next morning when she heard a familiar voice, singing.

"Heaven, I'm in heaven, and my heart beats so that I can hardly speak." The singer appeared around the corner. "Good morning, blossom darling," Lorne said.

"Well you're certainly in a good mood this morning," Rose observed. She scrutinized his features, then added what she saw to what she'd heard him singing. "Are you in love, Lorne?"

"A little early to tell yet, doll-baby," Lorne admitted. "But it has all the earmarks of something special." He paused a moment, getting a little dreamy eyed. "Her name is Angela."

"Good for you, Lorne," Rose approved. "You deserve to have someone that will make you happy, since you spend so much effort making other people happy." Self-honesty prompted her to add. "Even neurotic, mothers who jump at shadows."

"Do you have all that nonsense squared away now, Rosebud?" Lorne asked. Even in his euphoria, he had time to show concern for his friends.

Rose nodded. "I know I was being silly, I knew it then." She sighed. "But knowing isn't always enough. It was my feelings that I had to deal with."

"Join the human race, sugarplum," Lorne said. He gave her a peck on the cheek. "Look at the time, I've gotta dash."

Rose did look at the time and thought that she'd better dash too.

&&&&&&&&

Wesley went to Rose's office to check on her progress, or, more likely, the lack thereof, and immediately noticed the new decoration. Since Rose was so absorbed in her work, that she scarcely registered his presence, he paused for a more thorough inspection.

"When did the children start writing, Rose?" Hardly the question he'd come to ask, but if he didn't ask, the curiosity would drive him crazy.

"Yesterday." Rose looked up from her work. "Oz started teaching them to read and write."

"This one says Alaric on it," Wes remarked. "Didn't Ariel do one too? I'd have thought you'd have both of them."

"I'm not their only parent," Rose pointed out. "Or even the only one with an office. Of course Ariel did one."

Wesley smiled in understanding. "And that one would be in Spike's office, wouldn't it?" he asked rhetorically. "How is the research going?"

Rose grimaced. "I've only been at it for about an hour and already I'm working up to a full scale headache. I'm up to the s's now, and it looks like I'll be there all day. Unless I get lucky."

Wes nodded in sympathy. "I've just started cracking the f's. I never thought I was going to work my way out of the d's. Just checking in to see how you're doing on it."

"I think," Rose said reflectively. "That if it weren't so important, I'd just throw in the towel and go home and cuddle my babies." She looked up at Wesley. "But it is important. It's Angel's life that's in danger."

"Most of what we deal in is life and death situations," Wesley pointed out. "But you're right, it always does seem more important when it's someone you care about."

"That being the case," Rose remarked. "Why don't you get on with your work and let me get on with mine?"

&&&&&&&&

Angel was having his daily workout with Spike. The almost rhythmic clacking of staff striking staff echoed around the room.

"So what do you think?" Spike asked, dodging a thrust.

"I think they're a lot smarter than you ever were," Angel replied, parrying Spike's counterstrike. "Next thing you know, they're going to be writing poetry." He wanted to see if the dig rattled Spike into doing something stupid. It did.

Spike rushed him. "Take that back, you big dumb git," he growled. And the next thing he knew, he was bouncing off the padding on the walls.

Angel shook his head. "I can't believe that even you fell for that, Spike," he commented. He raised his staff to block Spike's next attack.

"Stupid ponce," Spike muttered. He went back to the original subject, one as near to his heart as his beloved Rose. "Oz is teaching them to play songs on a keyboard too." He spun, thrust, and missed.

"And you still think that Oz applying for the job was just a coincidence?" Angel asked. "If you do, you're even dumber than you look."

&&&&&&&&

Angela looked through her wardrobe carefully, trying to decide what to wear. She had a date with that green demon tonight, and while he was nice enough, his appearance was enough to put her off. But, it was all part of the plan. The demon worked for the vampire, and it was the vampire whose blood they needed for the spell. She thought that if she could just close her eyes the whole time, she could really like Lorne. He was charming, intelligent, and he said the sweetest things. But he was just so.., green. But she'd been the one who was chosen, so she had to do it. For the coven. For the greater good. And it wouldn't be for long, then she could get back to her life and never have to see the demon again. That was a cheering thought. She pulled a slinky little red number out of the closet. That ought to do, she thought. Keep him coming back for more until he was no longer of any use.

&&&&&&&&

Angel and Spike had called a halt to the sparring session, and were getting ready to go back to their respective jobs. It was then, that Angel noticed that one of the pockets of his jacket was bulging and remembered why. He pulled out the sack.

"I saw the Q'xlzr demon yesterday," he began. "It sent this along for the twins."

Spike took the bag and peeked inside. "Bloody hell," he said. He thrust the sack back at Angel. "You do the honors," he suggested.

"Oh no." Angel refused delivery on the offering. "They're your kids, Spike. I'm just the messenger."

"And if I bring home a whole bag of candy," Spike stated. "No matter where it came from, Rose is gonna rip me a new one. You know how she feels about the stuff."

Angel nodded. "I know," he replied. "But she wasn't like that at first. What made her change her mind?"

"I think it's because everybody gives it to them," Spike answered. "I don't think she'd have a problem with a bit once in a while, and even if she did, I could talk her into easing up. But it seems like every time everybody in this sodding law firm sees those kids, they've got to give them candy."

Angel grinned, having a sudden thought. "If she thinks it's bad now, wait till the kids are old enough to go trick or treating."

"I don't think even Rose knows about that," Spike remarked. "And I'd appreciate you keeping your fat gob shut on the matter, Liam."

Angel was still thinking of Halloween. "They'd make a cute pair of little vampires."

Spike snorted. "Not much of a costume, being yourself," he said derisively. "Besides, we don't go out on Halloween, them's the rules."

"We don't create trouble on Halloween." Angel was quick to point out the difference. "And you've got to admit, that when it comes to breaking rules, your kids are even better at it than you."

&&&&&&&&

"Giles, by the time you get a flight booked and get over here, the blue moon will already be past," Wesley said with more than a touch of asperity. "Yes, I can appreciate that you have a few personal scores to settle with the fellow, but at the moment, he's our problem, and I'd be extremely grateful if you could tell me just what he's capable of." He stopped talking and listened for a few minutes. "Well, if the circumstances are favorable, I don't see why not," he remarked. "Of course, I would have to run it by Angel first. And in the meantime, I really need everything you can tell me about Ethan Rayne."

&&&&&&&

"It's not a silly song," Oz protested. "It was written by Mozart. Do you know who Mozart was?"

The children nodded. Between Rose, Spike and Lorne, they knew quite a lot of music in just about every genre. But they didn't like that silly baby song.

"Mozart didn't write that," Alaric scoffed.

"He did too," Oz argued. "When he was five years old." He paused and went at it from another angle. "When you're just learning something, you have to start out with the simple stuff. You can go on to more complicated things when you know what you're doing."

"I'll do it." Ariel started to make a place for herself in front of the keyboard.

"It's my turn." Alaric refused to move for her.

"Then stop wasting time," his sister snapped.

"Maybe we should just call it a day as far as music lessons go," Oz said craftily. "As grumpy as you two sound, I think maybe you ought to go down for your naps now."

The twins exchanged horrified looks. The dreaded afternoon nap was just one more reminder that they were still babies, much though they hated to admit it. And Oz looked serious. Maybe they'd better behave.

Alaric sat down in front of the keyboard. "Which one did you say to start on, Oz?" he asked. And under Oz' direction, he started picking out 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'.

&&&&&&&&

"I'm glad it was Angela who got picked to try to charm that demon and not me," Melody said with a giggle. "Do you think she'll actually have to sleep with him?" She made a face, and snuggled against Nathan. "I'd far rather sleep with you."

"As I recall," Nathan replied. "We don't actually seem to have done much sleeping." He sat up and started groping for his clothes, thankful that soon he'd be able to drop the whole facade. Including trying to keep up the sexual pace with a woman twenty years his junior.

"You're not leaving, are you?" She was starting to pout again. She seemed to think it was cute, or alluring or some such. Nathan thought it was childish and inane.

"I'd love to spend the whole night with you, kitten," he lied smoothly. "But if I do, neither one of us is going to get much rest. And the blue moon is almost upon us. We're going to need to be fresh and alert when we do the spell."

"You always have some sort of excuse." Dear god, now she was whining.

"It's not an excuse." He bent down to kiss her. "It's a reason. And a very good one too. We've been working too hard to make all this happen. We can't let anything, not even relationships get in the way."

"You're right," she admitted ruefully. "I can't wait till we've gotten the spell done. Then, we can spend the whole night together whenever we like. Or maybe even move in together."

"Yes," Nathan agreed. "Whenever we like." Whenever he would like would be never again. She really was a silly little girl, and he hated having to waste his time on her. Stiff upper lip, he thought, then grinned. Stiff certainly did come into the equation, but it wasn't his upper lip that Melody was interested in.

&&&&&&&&&

"Angela, doll, a million bucks would sit around wishing it looked as good as you," Lorne remarked when he went to pick up his date. "You are one fine looking mama."

Angela giggled and took his arm. "You smell very nice, Lorne," she said in reply, trying to keep from out and out lying. "What is that aftershave you're wearing?"

"I didn't really look at the bottle," Lorne admitted. "I just splashed a little on. Do you like karaoke by any chance, sweet thing?"

"Sounds like fun," Angela replied. Just a few days, she thought. Surely she could get through just a few days. But why did it have to be her?

&&&&&&&

"I really thought you'd have kittens over the whole thing," Spike admitted.

"How could I.., oh never mind." Rose slid under the covers. "I like it that people like our children. I just wish they could show it some other way."

"We'll put the bag up and dole it out a bit at a time," Spike reassured her, climbing into bed beside her. "Just a bit of a treat now and then."

"Why can't they all just stick to hugs and kisses?" Rose grumbled. "That I could deal with."

"They get plenty of those too," Spike replied, snuggling up to her. "Come to that, I could use a few hugs and kisses myself about now." And instead of waiting for them, he pulled a more than willing Rose into his arms to get them.


	11. Developing Situations

Developing Situations

"It's all right, Lorne," Angela said soothingly. "The singing can wait till another time. We could go dancing or something tonight."

"Whatever your understanding little heart desires, cupcake," Lorne replied. But he was still shocked at how out of it he'd been lately. His favorite karaoke bar was now a sports grill. There were other changes he could see too. It had been too long since he'd gotten out and about though, that was obvious.

&&&&&&&&

Oz paced up and down the length of his motel room, feeling like there were bugs crawling all over, just under the surface of his skin. A blue moon could mess with you in ways that no herbs or meditation could overcome. When there were two full moons in on month, the wolf tried all the harder to come out. And it was only days away. He could already feel it so strongly that he felt like throwing back his head and howling. Instead, he sank into a lotus on the floor, closed his eyes and began meditating. Or, trying to. He was so antsy he was having difficulties focusing. He gave himself a mental shake, and tried again, regulating his breathing, concentrating on the soothing words and images. With a final snarl, it seemed, the wolf gave in and went dormant again. Until the next time.

&&&&&&&

"House there." The Q'xlzr demon pointed. "That where I saw man coming out. But I not thinking he live there. Just where action is."

"It's a start," Angel conceded. Money exchanged hands. "Why didn't you follow him and find out where he lives?"

"Lost he on way to bus stop," the little demon complained. "Human legs much longer than I's."

"What about the woman he was with?" Angel asked, reaching for any tidbit of information he could get. "Did you see her?"

The Q'xlzr thought for a moment, trying to put what it had observed into human terms. "Yellow on top of she's head," it said. "Almost as tall as man." It considered further. "Very bumpy."

"Bumpy?" Angel had to give that one a minute to sink in. "Oh. You mean..," He gestured with his hands, indicating full breasts.

It nodded, then, curiosity got the better of it. "What bumps for?" it inquired.

&&&&&&&&

"I thought you said that we were going to make an early night of it," Rose commented breathlessly.

"We're in bed, luv," Spike pointed out. He carried on with doing what was making her sound breathless.

"An early night suggests not only going to bed but actually sleeping," she replied.

"Would you rather be sleeping?" Spike teased. He bent his head to nibble ever so gently on her neck, and anything else Rose might have had to say was lost, as she moaned and arched her back.

The twins were sleeping soundly, unaware of what they were missing.

&&&&&&&

Angela prepared for bed, grateful that the demon had taken a hint that she wasn't ready to sleep with him. And she wouldn't be, she thought, not ever. Dancing hadn't been bad though. Lorne had a good sense of rhythm, and while they were dancing, she could rest her head on his shoulder and close her eyes and not have to see what she was dancing with. Then, it had been good, and if Lorne had been human, she would have had no qualms about spending the night with him. But when the music had stopped, she was still with a green demon with little red horns on his head. She shuddered, then went into the bathroom to brush her teeth. Again.

&&&&&&&

Lorne went home, walking on clouds. He didn't mind that Angela wanted to take things slow, that was probably a good thing. It certainly showed that she wasn't in the habit of jumping into bed with just anybody. And the few sweet kisses she had given him as they said their good nights were going to be enough for him to live on for a while. At least until tomorrow night. Lorne couldn't believe his luck. From no social life at all to a nearly full-blown relationship in the space of twenty-four hours. Sweet Angela, he thought. Some women had wanted to sleep with him out of curiosity, and others were completely turned off by the obvious fact that he was a demon. But darling Angela seemed to just accept him as he was, looking at him as a person, rather than as human or demon. Lovely, lovely Angela. He was whistling a merry tune as he unlocked the door to his apartment.

&&&&&&&&

Another council of war in Angel's office.

"Ethan Rayne is one of the most amoral persons I have ever heard of," Wesley remarked. "From what Giles told me, he does what he does, not for power, or to aid and abet the forces of evil, per se, although they certainly do benefit from his actions. But he does it simply because he can."

"Wasn't he that bloke that turned poor old Rupes into a Fyoral demon that time?" Spike asked with a grin. "A bit of fun, that was." He saw Rose giving him one of 'those' looks. "But I was still evil then," he added lamely.

"He also cast the spell that made everyone take on the characteristics of the Halloween costumes they were wearing," Wesley said. "I believe Giles said that that spell got broken just in time to keep you from biting the Slayer, Spike." He felt a pleasurable, albeit guilty thrill to see Spike's discomfiture.

"He also sent a demon after Buffy to save his own sorry hide," Angel put in quietly. That was a slightly uncomfortable memory. He'd saved Jenny's life then, only to take it away himself a short time later.

"So we've got a guy who can make with some major mojo," Gunn summed it up. "And doesn't give a good damn who gets hurt as long as it's not him, right?"

"That would seem to be a pretty fair appraisal," Wesley agreed. "But we still haven't found the spell that he's going to

use. I think we'll have to assume that whatever the trouble is, Ethan Rayne is behind it. He appears to be constitutionally incapable of staying out of trouble."

"We going to put him out of action permanent-like?" Spike asked. "Seems to me that's the only way we're going to keep him from getting all tricksy again."

"Giles had another proposal," Wesley informed them. "He would like us to just hold him, when and if we catch him. Then he'll send a detachment of Slayers to escort him back to England. Where he'll stand a rather informal trial in front of what little there is of the new council."

"Why don't we hold off on that decision until we actually have him?" Angel suggested. "The Q'xlzr picked up a line on him, but it's only a girlfriend. It wasn't actually able to follow him home, so we don't know where he lives yet. But I've got the house where the girlfriend lives discreetly staked out. If Ethan shows up, they'll give us the word, then keep him under surveillance from that point on."

"Still think we ought to just put paid to his pranks on the spot," Spike grumbled. "You take it easy on that sort and they just get into more mischief. If those poncey Initiative blokes had done a proper job of it, we wouldn't be having to clean up after him now."

"He hasn't actually done anything that we know of yet, Spike," Fred commented. "Besides, I thought being the good guys didn't mean that we kill them first then ask questions later."

"Fred, pet," Spike said mildly. "The most dangerous people are often the good ones. They'll kill you without so much as a by your leave if they think you've got it coming. It's the evil types that like to stand over you and gloat. Always thought that was a little stupid, myself. You gloat after." Seeing the look on Angel's face, he added, "Or sometimes before. But you don't give someone you're trying to off that kind of opportunity. It tends to jump up and bite you on the ass."

"And may I remind you, once again, Spike," Angel broke in. "That we only kill a human as a last resort. If we can catch him and put him out of commission..,"

"Then some damn fool will let him out again to go his own merry way," Spike finished. "Bet you ten to one that him getting away from the Initiative was nothing more than a bureaucratic cock up."

Angel ignored him. "Lorne, have you heard anything from any of your contacts?" He waited in vain for a reply, the Pylean seemed to be miles away. "Lorne," he repeated a bit louder.

"What?" Lorne had been miles away, reliving those few moments on Angela's front steps when he'd kissed her good-night. "Oh. I've got nothing on him, Angelface, under either name. Whatever he's doing, he's keeping it under wraps. At least for the time being."

"My contacts rolled snake-eyes too," Gunn said. "Looks like the little demon is the, whatever it is, of the hour. It certainly was the only one who could get a line on the guy."

"It would certainly seem that we've said anything that might be productive already," Wesley remarked. "So if you'll excuse us, Rose and I should be getting back to Research and continue looking for that spell."

Rose bit back a groan. She would be heartily glad when this sorry business was over and Angel was safe. She was constantly having headaches these days. Both from trying to make out the demon script on eroding texts, and the stress of worrying about Angel. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to be able to go home and be with her children.

&&&&&&&

"We're having fun learning to write and play music, Oz," Alaric began.

"I sense a 'but' coming up here," Oz remarked dryly.

"We'd like to go to the park again," Ariel said, smiling winsomely at him. Unlike her mother, she hadn't had to discover feminine wiles. She'd seemed to be born with them.

"And play on the swings," Alaric added. "Can we? Please?"

"To be honest, I don't think I'm up to a day at the park," Oz replied. In the outdoors like that, with the open spaces and trees, it tended to bring the wolf to the surface. But he didn't want to elaborate, although he wouldn't be surprised if the children picked it right out of his head, regardless.

Both of the children started to pout, and it made Oz feel slightly guilty. It wasn't right that they should have to be cooped up because of him. But there were a lot of things that weren't right in the world. And this, at least, was safer.

"After the blue moon?" Ariel asked.

"You know about that?" Oz didn't know why he should be surprised. These kids probably knew things about him that he kept a secret even from himself.

Alaric nodded. "'Sides," he said. "You're starting to smell a little wolfy."

"When did you get near enough to a wolf to scent it?" Oz let himself get sidetracked.

"Daddy took us to the zoo one night," Ariel answered. She giggled. "We sneaked in. But daddy can't go during the day, and mummy doesn't like the zoo."

"She doesn't like to see all the animals in cages," Alaric explained in answer to Oz' unasked question. "She thinks it's mean."

Having been caged himself more than once, usually voluntarily, but one time, very involuntarily, Oz could see Rose's point of view. "And you say you can smell the wolf on me?" He hadn't been around a vampire, and certainly not a curious hybrid like the twins so near to a full moon.

Both twins nodded this time. "'Specially when you're tired," Ariel remarked. She patted his hand sympathetically, an oddly adult like gesture from someone who so obviously had several years to go before being an adult. "We won't ask to go to the park again if it bothers you, Oz."

"I wanna see him turn into a wolf," Alaric grumbled. He found cause to grumble about a lot of things.

"Trust me," said Oz. "No, you don't."

&&&&&&&

A meeting with the rest of the coven tonight. Ethan wondered which was worse, their inane, self-righteous drivel, or Melody's demands in the bedroom. At least the meeting would be restful. With his plans fairly well secure, and the blue moon only a couple of days away, he could probably sleep through the entire meeting and not miss anything important. He almost considered giving the whole thing a miss, but decided against it. Someone might get an actual idea. Though it usually took more than one of them to come up with that kind of brainpower. He'd best make an appearance just to make sure that no one got.., creative. That was his prerogative.

&&&&&&&

"How did your date with Angela go last night?" Rose asked Lorne as the meeting broke up and they headed to their respective work areas. "And what did you do?"

"We spent the evening tripping the light fantastic, Rosebud." Lorne saw 'that' look on Rose's face and realized that he had used a phrase she didn't understand. "We went dancing. It was heavenly. I can hardly wait until tonight."

"Another date tonight?" Rose queried. "This sounds like it could be getting serious."

"I hope it is," Lorne replied, suddenly serious. "Because it wasn't until I met the beautiful Angela that I realized just what I've been missing the past few months. I never even noticed that I was lonely."


	12. The Face You Hide

The Face You Hide

Angel fumed silently at the report on his desk. Why couldn't they relay such urgent news to him immediately instead of waiting until they dotted every 'i' and crossed every 't'? He would have liked having it while he had everyone gathered together. He started scanning the document, mumbling the pertinent phrases out loud as he read.

"Subject left around 8:00 p.m. Met with twelve other persons." A coven? In light of the knowledge that a major spell was about to be cast, it seemed likely. "Target subject one of twelve other persons at meeting. Now maintaining surveillance on target." Angel felt a nasty grin coming on. Got you now, Ethan, he thought. You're not getting out of this one.

&&&&&&&

It was a smaller, out of the way museum, but interesting for all that. Between his own restlessness with the approach of the blue moon, and that the twins were just naturally little bundles of pure energy, Oz had felt motivated to get them all out of the apartment for a while. Just not the great out of doors. Both because of the wolf and the relentless California sunshine.

The children were a few paces ahead of him, and from the looks of them, carrying on a conversation that only they could hear. They'd already learned not to speak too freely in front of strangers. They had just wound up in a corridor end alcove, looking at a suit of Conquistador's armor, when someone else joined them.

&&&&&&&

What to do, what to do. Ethan was brimming over with nervous energy, even more so than usual, and he was out walking some of it off. He had nothing in particular on his mind, save the coming of the blue moon, and the culmination of his plans, when he saw the young man and children again. They went into a small museum, and Ethan followed. He still wanted to get a better look at the man, just to confirm his suspicions.

He tried hanging back a bit, keeping to the shadows as much as possible. The place was too out of the way for there to be many people there. Not one of the mainstream tourist attractions. With each glimpse he managed to steal, he was sure the man was the same one. But there was something about those children that bothered him. There was some almost otherworldly quality about them that was noticeable even at a distance. And there was something about the little boy's looks that struck a fleetingly familiar chord as well. Ethan continued to follow them, until he found that he'd followed too far to stay inconspicuous. Right into a hallway that dead-ended in an alcove.

&&&&&&&&&

Lorne was only tenuously connected as far as work was concerned. His mind was running riot with thoughts of what to wear that night. He mentally went through his large, garish wardrobe. The plum pinstripe suit, he decided, with the ochre shirt and the lime green tie. And a little gift for the lady might not come amiss. Candy, once a standard was now out of it. Too many people on diets, or with allergies, or whatever. Flowers, that ought to do it. No one could object to flowers, and he had yet to meet a woman who had a problem with accepting a bouquet of flowers. Or maybe a potted arrangement. Something that would be around for a while to remind her of him. The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea. He'd have to stop by the florist's on his way home to shower and change. He was in a better mood than he'd been in for a long time. So good, he just couldn't keep it in. "Steppin' out, with my baby..,"

&&&&&&&

Wesley was starting to feel decidedly hollow, and was seriously considering breaking for lunch. He glanced at his list. Just one more as far as the fa's were concerned. Might as well go over it and then start with the next bit. Faznair demon. He started reading up on it. Then, on the spell which summoned it. And suddenly lunch was forgotten completely. He'd found it. The spell that needed Angel's blood and to be performed at the blue moon. He'd found it.

&&&&&&&&

"Oz." Ariel tugged at his pants leg, trying to get his attention. "He's here."

Oz didn't even bother to ask who 'he' was. Ethan Rayne. He turned and saw the man at the end of the corridor, trying to look nonchalant, as if he'd just happened to be there. Which Oz kind of doubted. He could smell the fear on him for one thing. It wasn't the sharp scent of strong survival related fear. It was probably just the fear of discovery. He must have been trailing them. For how long, who knows. But now, he had them cornered, and seemed to find the position almost as untenable as Oz did.

"He's sure now, Oz," Alaric stated. "He knows he saw you in Sunnydale. But he doesn't know what you are."

"Talkative little devils, aren't they?" Ethan observed casually. Since his experience with children was of the slightest, he didn't realize just what a mouthful he'd just said.

Oz held out his hands, trying to get the message across to the twins to stay behind him. If there was trouble, and he had a strong feeling that there was going to be, then he didn't want them in the middle of it.

But the twins, usually pretty quick to pick up on such things ignored the hint and calmly walked in front of Oz, skillfully eluding his restraining hands.

"Go 'way," Alaric demanded.

"Children should be seen and not heard," Ethan remarked. "Perhaps I ought to give you a hiding to get the point across."

"You won't touch them." Oz' voice took on a throaty, gravelly, almost growling quality. Anger was good for bringing the wolf to the surface. "You ought to listen to them. You really ought to go."

"And I'm supposed to be afraid of someone that hides behind tiny babes?" Ethan scoffed. "I don't trust you not to interfere with my plans, just because of who you used to associate with. You sir, are a liability I can ill afford."

Oz started growing fur and fangs, and was helpless to stop the transformation. He didn't have the luxury to stop and meditate.

"You leave him alone," Ariel ordered. Both children stood together, and right there, two pairs of eyes, blue and gray turned yellow. Fangs appeared and the pretty little faces wrinkled into hideous masks.

Ethan paled. The werewolf was a surprise, but not a shock. But the children. Child vampires? He forgot about everything and started backing away. The half-wolf, for Oz had somehow miraculously stopped the change in between stages and the two tiny vamps started advancing on him. He turned and ran for his life.

&&&&&&&

Wesley had rushed right to Angel's office with his discovery and Angel had immediately called another meeting. Rose had arrived with Wesley, half-dragged there by him. Spike, having the furthest to go, and being the last notified, was the last to arrive.

Wesley quickly filled them in on what he had found. Rose had her nose stuck in a book, looking for further details and supplying them as necessary. Angel gave them the ops report and saw Spike sitting there with a smirk on his face. He already knew. The son of a bitch already knew and hadn't made sure he'd gotten the information as soon as it reached the law firm.

"Spike." Voice deliberately calm and controlled. "You run ops. You know how important this information is. So why didn't you see that I got it immediately?"

Spike shrugged. "Didn't see that you could do anything with it, so why put a rush job on it?" he remarked. "And the lads are keeping Rayne in sight. That's all you really need to know at this point. One phone call can tell you where he is."

As if on cue, Angel's cell phone rang. He picked it up, and after the initial 'hello' merely stood there and listened. Finally, he said, "Stay where you are. I'll have an escort for you in a couple of minutes, Oz." He handed the phone to Spike. "Call your men. Have one or two of them follow Oz and the kids back here."

"What happened?" Rose paled noticeably. "Are my babies all right?"

"They're fine, Rose," Angel soothed. "But Oz and the kids ran into Ethan Rayne. Or maybe Ethan even planned it. But I want some security for them."

Spike had taken the phone, punched in a number and was barking out orders, rife with profanity. Once he finished, he turned back to Angel, tossing him the cell phone. "All right, ponce, you want to fill us in on what happened?"

"I think it had better wait until Oz and the kids get here," Angel replied. "I think we're going to need to hear it directly from the source." He sat down behind his desk, looking.., stunned.

&&&&&&

It had taken several minutes of meditation for Oz to banish the wolf. When he got back to what he thought of as reality, the children were hovering over him. They were still wearing game faces.

"I think it's okay for you to go back to normal," Oz told them. "He's gone now."

"We can't," Ariel wailed. "We've tried and tried, but we can't."

"Are we gonna look like this forever?" Alaric demanded. "'Cause it's ugly, and I don't want to look like this."

"Let's try something," Oz suggested. "Sit down here by me." And carefully, step by step, he taught them the basics of meditation, joining them and helping them along. And after a few moments, the stress levels reduced drastically, and the twins were once again their usual adorable selves.

That done, Oz pulled out the cell phone that Angel had insisted on issuing him for emergencies, and hit the speed dial button for Angel's cell. He probably ought to know about this.

&&&&&&&

The whole group in Angel's office had come down with a raging case of the fidgets. Spike, one minute sitting next to Rose, holding her hand and trying to be a comfort to her, and the next, practically climbing the walls.

Gunn and Lorne kept almost running into each other as they paced.

Wesley kept going over the spell and making notes, keeping busy, trying to keep himself oblivious to what was going on around him.

Fred, who was on Rose's other side, the one that Spike wasn't frequenting on an occasional basis, finally reached out and took one of Rose's hands in hers, just to keep Rose from twisting them round and round until she thought she'd go crazy just watching.

Angel fiddled with this and that on his desk. Papers, phone, paper clips, whatever was within his reach. He reflected that he and Spike had missed their sparring session for the day, and he was actually sorry he'd missed it. Maybe after. He could certainly use the opportunity to release some of the nervous energy. Get rid of the tension before it blew the top of his head off as it felt like it was threatening to do.

&&&&&&

When Oz and the children arrived, Rose flew from her seat like a bolt from a crossbow and had her children in her arms. Despite Angel's reassurances, she been so worried about her darlings, and just had to make sure all was well with them. Spike joined them, and the family group stood there in a tight knot for several minutes without an audible word passing between them. Finally, Spike and Rose resumed their seats, a child apiece on their laps.

"You still have a couple of guys watching Ethan Rayne, don't you?" Angel asked Spike.

"'Course," Spike answered, stroking his little girl's hair. "Had most of them out there anyway. They haven't been getting much action lately. Thought it would be good practice for them. Especially the newer ones that haven't done much field work yet."

"Oz turned into a wolf," Alaric stated. He seemed incredibly smug that he'd gotten what he'd wanted from the first moment he'd known Oz' secret. Well, mostly.

"Just part way," Ariel corrected him.

"Is that what sent Ethan Rayne running like a bat out of hell?" Angel asked, and received a stern look from Rose for swearing in front of the children.

"I think the kids scared him more than I did," Oz remarked thoughtfully. "He didn't seem too fazed by the whole thing until they vamped out."

"They what?" The whole group, in perfect chorus.

"They've never done that before," Rose said. "Are you sure, Oz?" Even as she said it, she realized it was a foolish question. There was no mistaking a vampire when one showed its true face.

"We had scary, ugly faces," Ariel said.

"We couldn't get our real faces back till Oz helped us," Alaric added.

"Is there something wrong with us?" Ariel said pleadingly. Despite the fact that the twins knew that three people close to them were vampires, they had never seen one of them with anything but their human visages.

"Of course there isn't sweetie," Spike said soothingly. "That's what vampires do." He and Angel exchanged glances, and he handed his daughter over to Lorne, sitting nearby. He went and stood by Angel. "Harm?" For Harmony had followed the trio in.

"Just watch, darlings," Rose said softly. She'd seen it before, but still found it disconcerting. How much more so could it be for her children who didn't even have a clue about what was going on?

And all three adult vampires suddenly went all wrinkly faced. The children gazed at them in awe for a few moments, then breathed a sigh of relief when the faces they were accustomed to returned. That made everything all right.


	13. Stepping Out

Stepping Out

Rose took a late lunch to see Oz and the children back home. Technically, she'd already had lunch, but she'd munched a sandwich while working, and hadn't actually taken a full break.

Oz was starting to get a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He'd just started settling in and feeling like he belonged. But, he supposed, he couldn't blame her. "Do you want me to leave now?" he asked, hoping it would hurt less if he said it first. It didn't.

Rose's brow furrowed in consternation. "Whatever are you talking about, Oz?" she inquired, completely perplexed. "Why should I want you to leave?"

"I kind of thought that turning into a werewolf in front of your children might do it," Oz remarked. But a feeble ray of hope lit the darkness. After this she'd want him to stay?

"I thought you showed remarkable control, only changing half-way and so near the blue moon," Rose replied. "Besides, Oz, you didn't just change in front of my children, but for them. To protect them. How could I have a problem with that?"

Oz just shook his head, astounded. At least it was Friday, and the other two big danger days he wouldn't be near the kids.

&&&&&&&&

The twins had been silent, but that didn't mean they weren't carrying on a conversation. And, in the manner of children, what was happening with Oz was a peripheral issue. They were far more concerned with themselves at the moment.

'Why didn't they tell us?' Alaric, displaying his hair-trigger temper.

'Maybe they just didn't think to.' Ariel was considerably more charitable than her brother.

'This is important,' Alaric fumed. 'We should have known.'

'They might have thought it wouldn't happen until we're all grown up,' Ariel ventured.

Alaric's mood and thoughts shifted. 'It was pretty neat the way we scared him, wasn't it?'

Ariel considered. She was, for the most part, too much her mother's daughter to like the idea of people being scared of her. On the other hand, Ethan Rayne was a very bad man. 'I guess so,' she conceded reluctantly. 'Besides, we couldn't let him hurt Oz, could we?'

'Of course not,' Alaric agreed. 'But I think we need to talk to daddy when he gets home tonight.'

&&&&&&&&

Ethan slipped in the door of his flat, heart pounding faster than it ever had after a night of sexual gymnastics with Melody. Baby vampires? And then, it suddenly struck him why the little boy had looked familiar. He seemed to recall a vampire that looked like an adult version of the child drifting around Sunnydale. He had never gotten too close. He always took a great deal of care to avoid things that could damage his precious skin. And vampires were definitely on the list. By the time you got close enough to one to find out if it was stupid enough to be manipulated, you were usually being drained of your blood. Ethan liked his blood right where it was. In his own personal veins.

&&&&&&

Angela was going over her wardrobe, trying to decide what to wear on her date with Lorne when her phone rang. She frowned in annoyance, but picked it up anyway. "Hello?"

It was Jason, but his voice sounded scratchy, as if he had a bad connection, or, more likely, was in a place where the signal from his cell didn't travel too well. "I just got some information you need to know, Ange," he said. "It's about the demon..," suddenly there was nothing but static.

"Jason?" Angela listened intently, but still wasn't getting anything. "Jason? Are you still there?" But there was little more than static, and the only word she could make out clearly was the word 'sing'. How odd. Did Jason know they were going to a karaoke bar tonight? And what would be important about singing? She shrugged. Oh well, it didn't really matter anyway. She picked out a handbag to match the outfit she'd chosen and started putting the essentials in it. Including a very small vial of a colorless liquid that somehow still managed to look ominous.

&&&&&&&&

Jason had just gotten word from one of his contacts that the demon that Angela was trying to lure to the spell site was some kind of psychic that could read your thoughts when you sang. He immediately pulled out his cell phone to call her and inform her of the development, but the connection was bad. That tended to happen when you were traveling through a canyon. He did reach her though, but she sounded as if she were on the moon. "I just got some information you need to know, Ange," he said. "It's about the demon, he knows what you're thinking if you sing." The line started breaking up even worse, and he barely heard her saying his name, but he tried one more time. "Whatever you do with the demon, don't sing for him."

&&&&&&&

Rose wasn't gone all that long, but Wesley was already waiting in her office for her. Impatiently.

"We do have important work to do you know," he snapped.

"Are you suggesting that my babies aren't important?" she shot back. "It's not like I'm robbing the company of my valuable time. I worked through lunch."

Wesley immediately felt like a horse's ass. "Sorry, Rose," he muttered, red-faced. "It's just that now we know we're headed in the right direction, I'm getting a bit impatient. And tonight is the first night of the blue moon."

For all the urgency of the task at hand, Rose was still mulling over something else. "Have you ever heard of a werewolf with the self-control to only make the change half-way?" she asked. "And I get the feeling that he wouldn't have gone that far if that man hadn't been a threat to the children."

"Oz is unique," Wesley remarked. "And I certainly would like to look into the subject of his self-control. But at another time, Rose. We have to get all the facts on the Faznair demon."

"Why on earth would anyone want to summon up a demon the size of a two-story house?" Rose queried. "What could you possibly do with it?"

"Wreak all kinds of chaos and mayhem," Wes replied. "Which seems to be a trademark of Ethan Rayne's. But he needs the spell to go off without a hitch, or he won't have control of the demon. I don't know which possibility appeals less. A Faznair demon running amok on its own, or one running amok under Ethan Rayne's control."

"Well to complete the spell, he's going to need Angel's blood," Rose pointed out. "And we're not going to let him have that, are we?"

"We most certainly are not," he agreed. "Now, aside from a vampire with a pure heart, what else does he need for the spell?"

&&&&&&&

Lorne couldn't believe his luck. He'd been browsing through the florists, and saw just the thing. A small arrangement of decorative plants in a planter shaped like a quarter note. A good omen, he thought, finding a gift for her that would most definitely remind her of him. He paid for it and rushed out the door of the shop to go home and get spruced up. Then, on to Angela's. For a night to remember.

&&&&&&&&

For the rest of the day, the twins were subdued as Oz had ever seen them in his short acquaintance with them. Today's little outing had certainly made an impression on the precocious twosome. Most of the afternoon, it seemed as if he had to repeat everything he said to them. They were engrossed in a long telepathic conversation, by the look of things. But when he cautiously questioned them about it, they just said that they were fine, and that what they were talking about was little people's business, and he wouldn't want to know about it anyway. Oz had his doubts on that score, but let it rest. The only thing harder than shutting the two of them up was to get them to talk when they didn't want to, he was finding. But he was also finding it awkward, to say the least, and it was with no little relief that he greeted Spike and Rose upon their arrival. Then, he went straight to Angel's.

&&&&&&&

Tonight, Angela was in a royal blue number that left very little to the imagination. She'd chosen it because it was one of her best colors, setting off her creamy complexion and calling attention the fact that her hair was so dark a black, a true black, that it seemed to have blue highlights in it. Handbag, shoes and jewelry were all gold, setting a nice contrast. Make-up she kept to a bare minimum. She really didn't need much. She was beautiful, and she knew it. What surprised her was that Lorne thought so too. She'd have thought he'd be more attracted to a female of his own kind. She didn't know what to make of it that he appreciated human type beauty. But she was prepared to make it pay off. And tonight would be the last date she'd have to go on with him. Tonight her job would be finished, and she'd never have to look at Lorne again and pretend that she thought he was wonderful. She felt a slight, unexpected pang at the thought. If Lorne had been human, no matter how homely, she'd have thought he was wonderful anyway. For the first time, she wondered if she was doing the right thing, stringing the demon along like this. But she wasn't philosopher enough to work that one out on her own. She'd leave the thinking to Jason. She was still wondering what he had been trying to tell her about singing when the doorbell rang. She glanced at the time. That would be Lorne. Pasting a plastic smile on her face, she went to the door to greet her date.

&&&&&&&&

"Hi, Oz." Angel opened the door and motioned him in. "What brings you here? Nothing to do tonight?"

"Except maybe turn into a wolf," Oz reminded him. "Tonight's the first night of the blue moon."

"Like I could forget that," Angel muttered. "I'm a big, full-grown vampire. So why is everyone insisting on playing nursemaid to me?"

"Because they care about you?" Oz suggested. "I was just wondering if in all this place you might have some kind of holding cell with heavy bars where I could stay. I'm not sure I have enough control to deal with fighting off the wolf during a blue moon."

"After what happened today," Angel commented softly. "I think the smart money would be on you, Oz. That was absolutely phenomenal." He grinned. "I bet you impressed the hell out of Rose, wolfing out to protect the kids."

"That was pretty much what she said," Oz agreed. "But I'd still feel better if I was locked up somewhere secure."

"How about a compromise?" Angel offered. "Hang out with me tonight. If things start looking iffy, I'll get you right down the holding cells. You'll even have company. Nina always spends the night there on full moons."

"So I'm not the token werewolf around here?" No surprise in his voice, even though he was surprised, although he supposed that he shouldn't have been. "I'm surprised that no one, certainly not the twins didn't think to introduce me. I would have thought..,"

"The twins haven't met Nina," Angel interrupted. "She doesn't work here. I tried to rescue her from a werewolf attack. I killed the werewolf that attacked her, but I was too late to prevent him from biting her. I've been trying to help her deal with it ever since."

Oz caught a few inflections that Angel would have been surprised that he let slip. "Are the two of you an item?" he asked.

Angel looked uncomfortable. "We're taking it slow," he mumbled. Mostly because of him, and his ever-present fear of that 'moment of perfect happiness'.

"Listen," Oz said. "After all this is over, maybe you'd like me to talk with her. Offer her a few pointers about controlling it. If she wants to."

"I think she'd like that," Angel replied. He suddenly remembered his manners as a host. "Do you want a cold one, Oz?"

Oz shook his head. "I think tonight would be a good time to stay stone-cold sober," he answered.

&&&&&&&

"Well." Angela swallowed. What could she say about Lorne and his current get-up? "You certainly look special tonight, Lorne."

"My best glad rags for a night on the town with my best girl," Lorne replied. He pulled his hand out from behind his back and held out the planter. "A little something I picked up for you, sweet thing. Something to remind you of me when I'm not around."

"It's lovely, Lorne." And Angela did think it was lovely. But whether or not she wanted a reminder of what she was doing to him, what she had to do to him was another matter entirely. "Why don't I just put this up someplace and then we can leave?" she suggested.

"My time is yours," Lorne said grandly. He felt like a kid on his first date must feel. He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped off his sweating palms. He tucked the hanky out of sight quickly upon her return. Play it cool, don't act like you came down with the last shower of rain. But he was feeling so giddy that he felt like dancing down the hallway from her apartment rather than a sedate walk. An idiot grin kept tugging at the corners of his mouth. This was it, he thought. This was the big L and capitol O-V-E as well.

Angela smiled at him. The more time she spent with him the guiltier she felt. But it wasn't as if he was actually going to be hurt. He was just the bait to bring the vampire to them. Lorne would be set free once they had the vampire. And she would never again have to look into his trusting eyes and lie to him.


	14. Blue Moon

Blue Moon

As was the standard routine, nowadays, Rose immediately monopolized the children for about five minutes. It was sufficient time for her to assure herself that they had made it through the day safe, sound and in one piece. And, of course, allowed for some kissing and cuddling. Then, pausing only long enough to deposit her shoes in the bedroom (she'd gotten used to the comfort of not wearing them while she was pregnant, and now only wore them as was absolutely necessary), she was off to the kitchen to fix dinner.

Usually, this was Spike's time for a tickle and romp session with his offspring. He'd put up Rose's briefcase and hung up his duster while Rose was taking her turn. As a general rule, the moment Rose released them, the kids would rush him and they would all get rowdy for a while.

Well, to be fair, Alaric and Ariel were coming towards him. But at a steady toddle rather than a tripping run. And the smiles and giggles that commonly accompanied the advance were conspicuously absent. Matter of fact, they looked dead serious about something, and Spike felt a nervous rush pass over him. But, whatever it was, he was their dad, and it was up to him to make right whatever was troubling them. He knelt down, to be more on a level with them.

Alaric on one side of him, Ariel on the other, each putting a chubby baby hand on one of his shoulders.

"We need to have a talk," Alaric said solemnly. "Without mummy."

Ariel nodded. "Just 'tween us vampires."

Spike had a feeling that this was going to be even harder and more embarrassing to deal with than dancing around the subject of why they didn't need to know what he and Rose did together when they were alone in their bedroom. A thought struck him in passing to wonder if this was how a human dad felt when his kids started asking him about the birds and bees.

&&&&&&&

Angel clicked off the t.v. with a look of disgust.

"They don't make them like they used to," Oz remarked.

"They shouldn't have made that one at all," Angel grumbled. "Doesn't anyone even research any of the stuff they're using? Besides, romantic movies and novels to the contrary, Vlad's manners were never that good."

"You know him?" Oz supposed he shouldn't be surprised. When someone had been around as long as Angel and traveled as extensively, they were bound to have met all sorts of people.

Angel gave a half nod. "Only in passing. Spike introduced us. He was still young enough to think it was cool to meet the real Dracula." He gave a snort of laughter. "I was totally unimpressed, myself. Besides, he still has, or at least had, very fifteenth century notions about bathing."

"I guess that would be where the mind control comes in handy," Oz commented. "How else would he be able to get all those girls?"

Angel laughed out loud at that one. "I guess you've got a point," he replied. "But to tell you the truth, I think all the pretty young girls are more of an ego trip than anything. All rumors aside, virgin's blood doesn't really taste all that different from any other. Not that there are that many virgins more than chin high running around anymore."

"Depends on how far off the ground your chin is," Oz pointed out dryly.

&&&&&&&&

Angela was getting fidgety, and trying not to show it to Lorne. Of a necessity, she'd had to turn off her cell phone. It would be awkward, to say the least, to have to try to explain why she'd had it on while out on a date. But once, she had made an excuse to slip off to the ladies' room and tried calling Jason. But no luck. Either he had it off or he was just plain out of range. And Lorne was becoming more persistent in his wheedling for her to get up on stage and sing with him. What in the world had Jason been trying to tell her about singing? That Lorne liked to sing? She already knew that. That it would help win him over? It might, but it really seemed to her as though the conquest had already been made. So what had Jason wanted her to know about singing?

&&&&&&&&

Lorne came back to their table. "We'll be up in about ten, gorgeous," he said. "If you'll excuse me, I think I'll just go powder my nose first."

Angela nodded. She'd been waiting for a break like this and was beginning to think that she wasn't going to get it. Didn't demons have to use the restroom? "I'll be here," she promised, batting her eyelashes at him.

Lorne bent down to give her a peck on the cheek. "I hope you don't mind, light of my life, but I already picked out a song for us to sing. How do you feel about 'Don't Go Breakin' My Heart'?"

&&&&&&&

"Listen," Spike said, sounding, and feeling, a little helpless. "You two are in a class all by yourselves. We didn't know just what was going to happen." He wished the kids hadn't insisted on keeping Rose out of the conversation. Right now, he felt like he could use the moral support.

"But you knew we were gonna be vampires," Alaric pointed out. "We drink blood."

"And you said that making the ugly, wrinkly faces is what vampires do," Ariel added. She snuggled into her father, despite the fact that she and her brother were giving him their version of the Spanish Inquisition. They had moved up onto the sofa in the interests of comfort. That is, Spike's legs had started to cramp up on him, kneeling down as he had been.

"But you're special vampires," Spike replied. He felt a grin tug at his lips for a moment, remembering when that designation had been applied to him. Totally different circumstances, though. "Vampires get made, not born like you two. We didn't know just what you'd be like."

"Should have told us it was a poss'bility," Alaric said stubbornly. "Didn't just scare the bad man, scared us."

"And we couldn't change back," Ariel mumbled into Spike's shoulder. "Not till Oz helped us."

"I'm sorry, my little luvs," Spike apologized, giving them both a squeeze. "I don't like you having to be afraid of things, even when you've got a good reason. But to be honest, it never really occurred to any of us to tell you about it."

"Dinner's ready," Rose sang out from the kitchen.

Talk about saved by the bell, Spike thought. He hoped the kids were done giving him the third degree. He felt wrung out by the whole deal. But he had to admit that they did have a point. They ought to have known. He needed to sit down with someone and figure out what, if anything else the twins ought to be told. And that nasty, sinking feeling came back when it dawned on him who the only other person was that could really help him make those decisions.

&&&&&&&&

While Lorne was away from the table, Angela slipped the little vial out of her purse and quickly dumped the contents into his drink. She hurriedly returned the container to its hiding place. And none too soon. For Lorne was back. He sat down and immediately took a healthy swallow of whatever it was he was drinking. She hadn't really paid attention when he'd ordered their drinks.

"And next up," the d.j. said into the microphone. "Is Lorne and Angela, singing that golden oldie, 'Don't Go Breakin' My Heart'."

"That's our cue, sugarpie," Lorne said in a loud whisper. "We're on." He gulped down some more of his drink before taking her hand and leading her towards the stage.

Lorne's euphoria hadn't worn off in the slightest. If anything, it just kept growing. He was absolutely dizzy with the joy of it all now. Or was it just dizzy? Because all of a sudden, his knees were giving him severe problems. Like they didn't want to support the rest of him. And the place and all the people in it were starting to look fuzzy. What was going on?

Angela put her arm around Lorne as he started staggering from the effects of the drug. She led him straight past the stage, to the d.j.'s astonishment. "Sorry," she apologized without breaking stride. "He's not feeling well. Maybe another time."

As she led the unresisting Pylean out the door, she could hear the next announcement. "Looks like we're going to have to give Lorne and Angela a miss, folks. Next on the hit parade is Kate, giving us her rendition of 'Take This Job and Shove It'."

&&&&&&&&

"You three were awfully quiet in there tonight," Rose remarked. "I'm used to hearing a lot of noise from you." She started serving the children first. Not only did Spike join them at mealtimes to keep them all company, but he also provided the invaluable service of helping with the little ones so that Rose could get in a bite herself now and then.

"We needed to talk to daddy," Ariel said. She had a sly look on her face that, for a moment, made her resemble her father more than her mother.

Spike kept his gaze away from Rose, and started cutting up Alaric's food with a now well practiced hand.

"What were you talking about?" Rose had been only moderately interested before. Just the interest that a loving mother takes in what makes her children tick. But now that they were being so secretive about it, her curiosity was piqued.

Both children immediately stuffed something in their mouths, thereby rendering them unable to reply, having heard numerous times not to speak with food in their mouths. So the rule did have its uses after all.

Rose turned expectantly towards Spike, and found that he was still going to a great deal of trouble not to meet her eyes. "Would you care to enlighten me, darling?" Her tones were a bit less loving than they usually were when she used the endearment.

"Oh, just a little question and answer session," Spike said evasively, hoping that the love of his unlife would get the hint. He could always clue her in later, after the kids had been tucked in for the night.

Rose was about to carry on her interrogation, when she noticed the way the children were eating. "For heaven's sake," she scolded gently. "You're going to choke if you keep gobbling your food like that. Slow down, the food isn't going anywhere."

The twins promptly obeyed. It had been a strictly diversionary tactic, and it had worked. Now, they could take their time and make a grand mess of things as well. There were some things to be said in favor of being a baby, and the unwritten law that it was their prerogative to make an unholy mess while eating was one of them.

&&&&&&&&

"Where we goin'?" Lorne slurred as Angela helped him into the car.

"Give me your keys, Lorne," Angela demanded, albeit rather gently. He suddenly seemed so pathetic now, and the guilt level was rising. "You're in no shape to drive. What was in that drink of yours?" Of course she knew, but she still had to keep up the pretense a little longer.

"Don' know." Lorne rubbed his eyes, but it didn't help bring things into focus any better. He fished his car keys out of his pocket and handed them to her. "Don' remember. Should'n' be drunk. Haven' had tha' much." He was starting to feel increasingly groggy too. Not only was his vision blurred, but his eyes kept insisting on shutting.

"Maybe you're coming down with something," she replied. "You need to be home in bed."

"Felt fine earlier," Lorne mumbled, half-asleep. "How'll you get home, kitten?"

"I'll call a cab from your place," Angela lied. "Why don't you just lean your head back and get some sleep on the trip home?"

"Sorry, sweetie-pie." Lorne was practically talking in his sleep, now. "Didn' mean to let you down."

"You haven't, Lorne," Angela assured him. "You haven't let me down at all."

&&&&&&&&&

"You going to spend the night here, Oz?" Angel asked. "You're more than welcome to."

Oz nodded. "I think I ought to," he said. "Just in case."

The phone rang, and Oz deliberately tuned out the conversation, out of politeness. Politeness went to the four winds when Angel slammed the receiver back in the cradle and started swearing.

"What's going on?" Oz wasn't one hundred percent sure that he wanted to know. From Angel's reaction, it could only be bad news.

"Damn, damn, damn." Angel looked down at the remains of the phone, and was mildly surprised to note that its days as a communications device were at an end. It was smashed metal and broken plastic, now. "We were so busy worrying about me that we didn't once think that any one of the others could be used as a hostage against me."

Oz felt a block of ice form in his stomach. "Who have they got?" he asked quietly.

"Lorne," Angel replied. "They say that they'll let him go if I show up."

"Do you believe them?" Oz inquired. He didn't think it was too likely, himself. Hostages were also witnesses, and generally speaking, kidnappers knew that, and took steps to see that the witness wasn't in any shape to talk afterwards.

"Hell no," Angel said explosively. His temper suddenly faded to be replaced with cold determination. "Will you be all right on your own, Oz?"

"I'm not going to be on my own," Oz answered. "I'm going with you. And I'm thinking that maybe you'd better call in some reinforcements, too."

Angel shook his head. "They want me," he growled. "This is my show."

"And since it's you they want," Oz pointed out carefully. "Then they're probably going to have something prepared to handle you. C'mon, Angel. Even the Lone Ranger had Tonto."

Angel sighed. Time was wasting while he was arguing with Oz, and he certainly didn't have time to get into an out and out fight with him, nor did he want to. "Okay, Tonto," he said resignedly. "Saddle up. We're about to hit the trail."

&&&&&&&

Lorne managed to peel open his still bleary eyes. He squinted, trying to focus.

"Be still, Lorne," Angela advised softly. "We're not going to hurt you."

Lorne tried to move and found that he couldn't. Tied to a chair, it felt like. "What's the deal?" he asked, a little bitterly, seeing as he was coming to the realization that he had been set up.

"We just needed you to lure the vampire here," Angela explained. "Once we have him, we'll let you go."

"Yeah, right." The bitterness came through in his voice even more strongly now. "And I'm supposed to believe that a lying little bitch like you would keep her word."

Angela blinked. She didn't much like the designation, but she had to admit that from Lorne's point of view, it was apt. "I didn't mean to hurt you, Lorne," she apologized, and it was more than half sincere. "But what we're doing is very important."

"Kick me in the ass and break my heart at the same time," Lorne muttered, half to himself. "Must be convenient for you that my anatomy is arranged that way. And I must have had room up there for my head too, seeing how easy a mark I was." He laughed humorlessly. "And to think I was falling in love with you. Bitch."

&&&&&&&

Spike picked up the ringing phone. "Yeah?" He listened for a few moments. "Play it back for me," he demanded. "The whole damn thing." There was a longer pause. The only reason that he didn't have an audience was that Rose was occupied with giving the kids their baths. "Bloody hell," he swore. "That stupid, sodding wanker. Call Wyndam-Pryce and Gunn and give them the location mentioned in the conversation. Tell them to meet me there." Another pause. "No, I do not want a whole unit to come along with. Just tell those gits when you call them to make sure they're packing something lethal." He slammed the phone down, not noticing that he'd done to it what Angel had done to his.

"Rose, babe." Spike stuck his head in the bathroom, bringing an abrupt halt to the laughing and splashing going on. "I've got to go out for a bit."

For a moment, Rose almost wished that Spike was the telepath. There was obviously something wrong, and it wouldn't do to upset the children. But she couldn't stop herself from asking. "What is it, love?"

"Your precious Angel," Spike snarled, totally forgetting the rule about not upsetting the kids. "Has gone off and waltzed right into a trap. Bloody stupid git is lucky I had my boys monitoring security tonight." He swooped down to give her a quick kiss. "I've got to be off, pet. Right now." He was out the door again in the blink of an eye.

Rose stayed as she was for several moments, mouth hanging open. Then, she felt a wet little hand tugging on her sleeve.

"Don't worry, mummy," Ariel said. "Daddy will save Uncle Angel."

"'Course he will," Alaric agreed. His little face lit up with a smile. "Daddy will kick the bad man's ass."

"Alaric William," Rose said weakly. "Watch your language." But it was an automatic response. She tried to focus on the task at hand, but that was automatic now too. All she could think about was that Angel had run headlong into danger. And now Spike was on his way to do the same.


	15. Stealing the Bait

Stealing the Bait

"I know this place," Angel said quietly. "I've seen a few plays here."

It was a small theater of the sort that is rented out to groups too small, too unknown or just hungry for some scrap of acknowledgement. No major production had ever taken place here.

"Will you be able to get in?" Oz asked.

Angel nodded. "It's basically a public building," he explained. "If it wasn't, I would need an invitation. But they'd give me one, since I'm the one they want."

They were currently parked about half a block down from the structure.

"So what's the plan of action?" Oz inquired. "There is a plan, isn't there?"

"I don't suppose I could talk you into waiting in the car?" Angel suggested. But he really didn't have his hopes pinned on it.

"Not a chance, kemo sabe," Oz replied. "When I said I was coming along, I meant as part of the gang, not the getaway driver."

Angel looked up, checking out the upper floor windows. "I'll take the high road," he said.

"And I'll take the low road," Oz finished. "Meet you in the middle?"

"Unless you find Lorne," Angel said. "Get him the hell out of there first."

"Just don't go and get yourself killed," Oz advised. "Rose would never speak to me again if I let something happen to you."

&&&&&&&&

The quiet side street was beginning to be lined with cars.

"Silly sod," Spike said in disgust. "When you're trying to keep a low profile, you don't drive the damn Viper."

"Just the family sedan, huh?" Gunn asked with a grin. Spike had taken the car out of habit, and there it sat with the children's car seats still in the back.

"Do you two think we could keep our minds on the problem at hand?" Wesley refused to be drawn into the debate. "Angel is nowhere in sight, so he must already be inside."

Spike, for reasons known only to himself was looking around inside the Viper.

"Find anything interesting?" Gunn queried sarcastically.

"He's not alone," Spike replied. "Oz is with him." He started to grin. "Wankers aren't going to know what hit them. Two vampires, a werewolf and you two. Ought to be enough."

"It depends on how powerful they are and how well organized," Wes remarked. "We know that Ethan Rayne has quite a few magical resources. But we don't know a thing about his allies."

"Hard to speak a spell with your throat torn out," Spike replied, his voice somewhat altered now. And, so was his face. He was ready to play.

"Split up or stick together?" Gunn had his favorite ax along. Plus a few other odds and ends tucked in his pockets.

Spike was sniffing around. He pointed to a set of steps leading to a basement entrance. "You two go that way," he ordered. "That's the way wolf-boy went." He headed towards the fire escape. "I'll go after the ponce." He started climbing, quickly, agilely, but as he moved away from them, ever upwards, they heard him grumbling. "Rose will never forgive me if I let that stupid ponce get himself killed."

&&&&&&&&

"Where are they?" Harmony asked.

"They're supposed to be sleeping," Rose replied. Her eyes kept darting this way and that, as if expecting something to happen somewhere around her. Which of course, wasn't where the action was. "But I think they're trying to stay awake. They're worried about Angel and their father."

Harmony tip-toed into the children's room for a peek, and was back in a minute. "If they're faking it," she remarked. "They're doing a really good job. I don't think they're the ones that are worried."

"You're right, Harmony," Rose admitted. "I've been ready to climb the walls ever since Spike left. That's why I called you. If I had to stay here with no one but myself for company I think I'd be screaming by now."

"They're big, grown-up vampires," Harmony pointed out. "They can take care of themselves. I think the kids think so too." She put her arm around Rose's shoulders. There was something about Rose that brought out the protective instincts in everyone. "They'll be all right, Rose. I'm sure they will. But I'll stay right here with you until they get back."

"Thank you, Harmony." Rose summoned up a wan smile. "I hope I didn't interrupt any important plans."

Harmony shrugged. "Just another evening at a singles bar," she replied. "What's wrong with me? I used to be one of the most popular girls in high school. Now, I can't seem to get a date no matter what I do."

"Maybe you're looking in the wrong places," Rose suggested, getting drawn from her own worries by Harmony's problems.

&&&&&&&&

"Hello, Lorne, isn't it?" Ethan Rayne sauntered up to where the Pylean was tied. Angela had disappeared since Lorne insisted on giving her the cold shoulder. "I thought you and I should have a talk."

"I have nothing to say to you," Lorne replied coldly. He suspected that Ethan was the one that set Angela on to him. Not that it mattered. She could have said no.

"Not a very cooperative attitude," Ethan remarked. "I'm offering you a chance to get out of here in one piece, demon. In short, I'm proposing a deal."

"And why should I believe you?" Lorne asked suspiciously.

"Because I think you and I could make one hell of a team," Ethan answered. "In general, I prefer to work alone, but I'd hate to see someone with your potential swept under the floor, so to speak, just to keep things neat and tidy."

"I already trusted one of your little group," Lorne said, almost feeling another piece of his heart break off. "And look where that got me."

"The rest of the group is merely a means to an end," Ethan informed him. "I'm the one pulling the strings."

"I'm nobody's puppet," Lorne shot back. As Ethan shrugged and walked away, he added to himself. "Looks like I'm nobody's anything. Except a fool for love."

&&&&&&&&

Oz sniffed carefully. There had been several people milling about here, although there weren't any visible at the moment, and it was difficult, though not impossible, to pick out Lorne's scent. He'd been brought this way. And what shape he found the demon in, and how well guarded would decide on just how exactly he would follow Angel's orders. If the Pylean was ambulatory, Oz would see him out the door, and go back to try to keep Angel out of trouble. Since no one was looking, he permitted himself a grin. It was almost like being back in the Scooby gang.

&&&&&&&&

Angel looked down from the catwalk just off the stage area. There were people, but he didn't see the requisite number yet. Someone was below him on the stage, painting a magical circle on the floor. Someone wasn't getting their security deposit back. More to the point, he didn't see Lorne. Or Ethan Rayne. Once they had a name, they had pulled up several files on him and one had contained a photo. He double-checked. No, no Ethan. He was about to scout elsewhere when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned and saw Ethan Rayne. With a cocked and loaded crossbow aimed at his heart.

&&&&&&&&

"Ready?" Gunn whispered.

"I've got your back," Wesley replied.

Gunn slipped across the hall an into an open doorway. "All clear here," he reported. "And no sign of any of our people."

Wesley joined him. "We've almost covered this floor. Split up, or stay together?"

Gunn considered. "Lorne might need help getting out of here," he replied. "Then, we'd need the other one for cover."

Wesley nodded. "I'm with you," he said. "Are you ready?"

&&&&&&&

A below stage dressing room, and it was there that Oz followed the scent to Lorne.

The room was crowded with the junk leftover from dozens of productions. And a chair with a very depressed Pylean tied to it.

Oz glided up to the chair silently and began untying the ropes.

Lorne craned his neck around till he heard it creak. "Oz?" His voice flooded with relief. "How did you find me?"

"I came with Angel," Oz replied, working the knots loose. "Can you walk? Because I don't like the idea of him walking into this without any backup."

"Just call me the little engine that could," Lorne answered. Still, he needed a little help from Oz to unfold himself from the chair. The ropes had been tight enough to cut off his circulation.

They headed for the door just as it started to open.

&&&&&&&

Spike entered through a skylight. It had taken some doing and ingenuity on his part, but he'd passed on the fire exit that Angel had used. Just storage space up here. Nothing but boxes and dust and cobwebs. But there were voices in the next room. He went and pressed his ear to the door to listen.

"You actually had to kiss that green demon?" A female voice. And another one, replying.

"It wasn't so bad," Angela said reflectively. "I could close my eyes and pretend that he was human then. It was harder just talking to him when I didn't have an excuse to close my eyes."

Spike reflected that it was probably a good thing that he couldn't bring Rose along, not that he would have. If she had heard that, she would have blown their cover immediately just to defend her friend. Probably scratch the little bitch's eyes out. Then she'd never have to look at anything or anyone again. He peeked through the keyhole. And squinted to get a better look. Evidently the next room was the ladies' dressing room, and they were robing up for the ceremony. He started to grin, then the grin faded before it was fully fledged. What in the hell was he doing looking at other women? Especially when he thought about what he had waiting for him at home.

&&&&&&&

The telephone gave a feeble groan, then completely gave up the ghost. It was the first time either Rose or Harmony had noticed its destruction.

"Not again," Rose sighed. She disappeared into another room for a few minutes and came back carrying another phone. In a moment's time, she'd replaced the destroyed appliance with a new one.

"Does that happen often?" Harmony asked. It must, since Rose seemed to be prepared for it.

"Spike can be a little hard on things when he gets mad," Rose replied. "I usually have to replace the phone about once a year. I suppose that's not too bad, considering."

"I wonder who was calling," Harmony mused. "I guess we'll never know, now."

"If it was important, they'll call back." Rose didn't sound all too convinced herself.

"If they can," Harm pointed out.

"You're not helping, Harmony." Rose started fidgeting and pacing again. It seemed like Spike had been gone forever, even though the clock said that it had been just a little under two hours. To her, it felt like an eternity. An eternity of uncertainty about people she cared about.

&&&&&&&

Oz stood between Lorne and the door, then dropped his vigilant pose when he saw who entered. "It looks like the cavalry has arrived," he commented. "How did you guys know where to look?"

"Spike suspected that Angel might be lured into doing something stupid," Wesley explained. "Hard a concept as that might be to deal with. He had ops take over security for the weekend. Including monitoring incoming telephone calls."

"So Spike's here too?" Oz turned custody of Lorne over to Gunn, who was more of a height with the demon and could be more help to him in his current condition.

Wesley nodded. "Where's Angel?"

"I don't know," Oz admitted. "We split up when we got here. He went up the fire escape." He thought a moment. "One of us ought to get Lorne out of here." The way he said it made it pretty plain that he meant one of them.

Gunn shrugged, despite his burden. "I've already got him," he said, obviously not too happy. "So I guess it might as well be me."

"Take him straight back to the firm," Wes directed. "He may need medical attention."

"Will do," Gunn promised. He started half-carrying Lorne out of the room.

"I don't need a doctor," Lorne insisted. "Just large amounts of medicinal alcohol."

"If the doc says it's okay, Lorne," Gunn assured him. "I'll pour it down you myself."

&&&&&&&

"I've got him," Ethan called out, rather smugly, really. "Why don't you be good lads and help me fetch him down?"

The other male members of the coven filed up to the catwalk at a run.

"Do you people have any idea what you're doing?" Angel asked, hoping against hope to get through to at least one of them.

"Of course we do," one of them answered smugly. "We're going to heal the earth. And your blood is going to help us do it."

Angel was taken aback. Of all the things he expected to hear, such an admittedly laudable ambition wasn't on the list. "Have you ever heard of a white magic spell that required a death?"

"Don't listen to him," Jason warned. "Don't talk to him either. Remember, Nathan said that he'd try to trick us to save himself." Good, dependable, malleable Jason.

"His name isn't Nathan Wayne," Angel said desperately. "It's Ethan Rayne. And if you think that he has any interest in helping with a noble cause, then you've been completely mislead. He's using you." He would have said more, but something hard and heavy hit him on the back of his head, and the lights went out.

"I think we've heard enough from him anyway," Ethan said mildly. "Get him to the circle. Tie him up, tightly, mind you, vampires are strong." He thought for a moment. "You might want to gag him too."


	16. Taking Names

Taking Names

Spike slipped through the now empty room. He'd obviously made a mistake in his choice of entrances. He'd thought those bloody females would never leave off nattering and that he'd have to put their lights out. Hardly gentlemanly, that. By taking an even more circuitous route than Angel had, he finally wound up in almost the same identical spot. This time, however, the view was different. There, in the middle of the now finished circle lay a trussed up Angel.

"Stupid git," Spike muttered. "Knew he'd walk right into it."

Another thing that had changed since Angel had looked down from this vantage point was that now the coven were all assembled. They were taking positions around the circle, ready to begin.

Spike detected a furtive movement off to one side. He looked and saw that it was wolf-boy and Percy. But no Gunn. Spike figured he must've drawn the short straw when it came to who got to tend to Lorne. So that just left the three of them. And the ponce, who was obviously in no condition to do much of anything.

&&&&&&&

The new phone rang, loudly and clearly, and Rose nearly jumped right out of her skin.

Harmony answered the phone. "Hello. Oh, hi, Fred. Was that you earlier? Spike kind of broke the phone. He isn't? He didn't? Wait a minute, I'll ask." Harmony placed her hand over the receiver. "Rose, do you know if Spike took anyone with him?"

Rose shook her head. "I don't know," she admitted. "I suppose he could have. But if he did, he didn't say anything to me about it. Is Wesley missing?"

Harmony nodded. "Sorry, Fred," she replied. "Rose doesn't know for sure. But it's probably a pretty safe bet. We will, and you call if you hear first. Bye."

"Do you really think Wesley is with Spike?" Rose asked. She was torn between being relieved that Spike wasn't alone, and even more nervous, if that were possible, at the thought of someone else she cared about being in danger.

"I'm not sure even Spike would try to take on a whole coven by himself." Harmony giggled, then paused and thought for a moment. "On the other hand, he might..,"

"Harmony!" Rose was beginning to wonder if it had been such a good idea to call Harmony in the first place. One more remark like that and she was going to need to be sedated.

&&&&&&&

"Up there," Oz whispered, and pointed Spike out to Wesley. A thought suddenly struck him. "Do we have anything even remotely resembling a plan?"

Wes looked sheepish. "Well, actually, no," he admitted. "I guess that's what we get from letting Spike take charge."

"Then let's just watch Spike and follow his lead," Oz suggested. "And it might not hurt if we got a little closer."

&&&&&&&

Spike saw his remaining allies close in and flank the stage. Good. Now, he thought, ought to be a good time to make a grand entrance. He swung himself over the edge of the catwalk, and dropped, light and graceful as a cat itself onto the stage floor, right in front of the true leader of the coven. "Hallo, Ethan," he said casually. "I heard you met my kids the other day. Adorable, aren't they?" Spike laughed, and it was not the happy, comfortable sound a laugh ought to be. His face, which in the ensuing tedium he'd let go back to human, wrinkled up again. "See the family resemblance?"

About half the coven members dropped whatever they were holding. In many cases, it was lit candles. A couple of trailing robes caught fire before the candles flickered out, and all sense of organization began to deteriorate. And one man had a suspicious looking wet spot on the front of his robe.

Wesley and Oz took advantage of the disruption to make their way onto the stage. Most of the coven were so rattled that they offered no resistance, and those few that did weren't any real trouble. Wesley started cutting Angel's bonds while Oz kept look out. But Spike was still the main distraction.

"What are you doing working with him?" Ethan didn't specify who 'he' was, but then, he didn't really have to.

"Oh, haven't you heard?" Spike asked innocently. "Souls are all the rage now. One of these days all the vamps are gonna have 'em."

Ethan looked around helplessly. The coven had scattered to the four winds. His sacrifice was being released. It looked like it was time to cut his losses and beat a hasty retreat.

Spike reached out a hand and grabbed the collar of his robe. "No, you don't," he chided. "You've been a very bad boy, mate, and there's people as what want to give you a good talking to."

Ethan felt a cold wave of panic wash over him and in desperation, he pulled out of the robe and began his flight. Only to be confronted by Oz. And his fear gave way, in some small part, to confusion. He knew that the man was a werewolf, so what was he doing standing there, fully human, during a blue moon? But when the figure in front of him remained human, he decided to take his chances. He shoved past Oz and raced down the aisle.

"Bad move," Oz growled, growing fangs, and set off in pursuit.

When Spike caught up to them, Ethan was pinned to the floor by a werewolf, which seemed to be suffering from an attack of indecision. Then, its jaws opened.

Ethan shut his eyes.

"No, Oz!" Spike warned urgently. "Bloke's a big enough pain without you turning him into a werewolf too." The werewolf turned its head to look at him and growl warningly. "Oz," Spike said a little desperately. "I know you're in there. Don't do it. You'll spend the rest of your life flogging yourself over it."

By then, Wesley and a groggy Angel had joined them. The wolf looked from Spike to the newcomers to the man pinned beneath him. Then suddenly, he was Oz again. And a very embarrassed Oz at that. He hadn't thought to bring along a change of clothes. Suddenly changing back, in the altogether, on top of another man was one he didn't think he was going to live down. Or be allowed to.

"I've got him covered now, Oz," Wesley said quietly. He produced a gun from a pocket.

Without a word, Spike shrugged out of his duster. Between the lot of them, it was the only thing they had that would make Oz decent enough to take out in public.

Oz rolled off Ethan and gratefully accepted Spike's wordless offer. Nothing was said for long moments, then, it started. Spike first, of course, just an ill-suppressed snigger. But it rapidly became contagious, even to Oz himself, who had to admit that it probably would have looked pretty funny to him too, if it had been someone else.

Ethan wasn't getting the joke. He looked up helplessly at the four of them. Despite his merriment, Wesley's gun hadn't wavered so much as an inch. And it was still pointed right at him.

Spike was just hoisting Ethan up off the floor, preparatory to leaving when Angel's cell phone rang. "Who in the hell would be calling me now?" he grumbled. It was the first thing he'd said since he'd been freed. "Hello?" That was all it took, then, even to Wesley's entirely human ears, the sound of an angry tirade came through loud and clear. Angel leaned towards Spike and held the phone between them. "I think this is for you, too," he said.

"Of all the inconsiderate, stupid things the pair of you have ever done," Rose's voice came through. "And you didn't even have the good sense to take along an ops team? What are you paying them for? Do you have any idea how worried I've been?"

Spike backed away, rubbing his ear theatrically. "No sense listening to it all now," he remarked. "We'll just hear it again when we get back."

"She'll probably have even thought of a few more things to say to us," Angel agreed. He carefully switched the phone off, hoping that Rose wouldn't notice it until she'd wound down. Hopefully, when she saw them, she'd be so relieved that she'd forget that she was mad.

Spike turned to Oz. "Hit me," he said.

"What?" Oz was totally confused, but he was pretty sure that he didn't want to hit Spike.

"Hit me," Spike repeated. "A good one. Right in the face where it will show."

"Oh no you don't, Spike," Angel grumbled. "You are not going to get out of things by having Oz hit you just to gain Rose's sympathy. You'll take your medicine like a man."

Spike sighed, making quite a production of it, which is what it was, since he didn't have to breathe. "I'm starting to think this grown-up gig is more trouble than it's worth," he complained.

"I'll be sure to mention that to Rose," Wesley remarked. "I'm sure she'll find it extremely enlightening."

"You wouldn't," Spike said in shocked horror.

"You'd better not, Wes," Angel advised. "Because before any of you could hear it, Rose mentioned getting a call from Fred. You're in the soup too."

"I'm not sure I ever thought I'd say this," Oz commented. "But I think I'm kind of glad that I'm not in any kind of relationship right now."

"Not to worry, Oz," Spike said companionably. "I'm sure that Rose will yell at you too."

"That's not exactly a comforting thought," Oz replied.

"It is though, ain't it, Peaches?" Spike asked Angel.

Angel gave Spike a dirty look for the Peaches comment, then turned to Oz. "It's kind of a mixed blessing, you might call it," he explained a little awkwardly. "You don't want to hear the yelling, but you're glad she's doing it because it means she cares about you."

&&&&&&&

A couple of calls on Angel's cell phone meant that they were met at the door to the law firm by an ops team which took custody of Nathan and led him to holding. They'd decide what to do with him later. Maybe Monday. Angel didn't really have a problem with letting him sweat out the weekend, or longer, wondering what was going to happen to him.

They made a brief stop at Angel's so that Oz could grab some clothes, and he was happy that he'd left some there. Then, to medical to see what was happening with Lorne.

"I'm sorry," a doctor was patiently explaining in tones that suggested that it was for the umpteenth time. "But you have to let the rest of the drug work its way out of your system first. No alcohol for at least twenty-four hours."

"Do you know how long it's been since I've gone a whole day without a drink?" Lorne demanded. "I'll go into the d.t.'s. I'll go into shock or something."

Gunn was grinning. "C'mon, Lorne," he said. "You'll make it. It's only until tomorrow. Then, I'll take you out and we'll both get blasted." He noticed the others. "Did we win?"

"Don't we always?" Spike replied with a smirk. Inspiration struck. He'd never been high on Gunn's favorites list, maybe he could get a reaction out of him before Angel spoiled it. "Hit me."

Gunn looked at Angel, who shook his head, but couldn't hide a grin.

"I see," Gunn mused. "Rose is pissed and you want to distract her, huh? Nothing doing, Spike."

"Bunch of bloody useless wankers," Spike muttered in disgust. "Shoulda stopped at a bar on the way back. It's always easy enough to get into a bar fight."

"You'll survive getting yelled at, Spike," Wesley said. He sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than Spike. After all, he had some stormy weather coming from Fred's direction.

"It isn't that," Spike protested. "She's yelled at me before, and most certainly will again."

"And you'll live without getting any for one night," Gunn added.

"Rose don't play dirty like that," Spike said.

"Then what are you bitching and whining about?" Angel groused. "Lorne, are you good to go now?"

"As good as it's going to get, I guess," Lorne replied. "But what I wouldn't give for a good, stiff drink right about now."

"Then maybe you'd better all walk your happy butts up to the apartment to let Rose know that you're all right," Fred suggested from the doorway.

"When did you get here?" Wes asked, feeling his stomach tie itself into knots. He did suppose that he ought to have at least told Fred where he was going before he'd gone rushing off.

"About ten minutes ago," Fred answered. "Is everyone in one piece?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Spike grumbled. He brightened. "Fred, luv, will you hit me?"

By way of reply, Fred grabbed his ear and started tugging him along, and the rest followed like lambs to the slaughter. Which is what they felt like.

&&&&&&&

Once she'd spoken to Angel on the phone, Rose had gone from nervous to working up a full head of steam. The pressure of which built up when she realized that he'd hung up on her. Now, she was just dying for someone to blow it all off on. She'd had word from Fred that she'd arrived and would meet up with the rest, so now that there was nothing to really worry about, she worked on mad, and was doing rather well at it.

She was still pacing at the far end of the room, trying to figure out just what she could do that was as awful as they all deserved when the whole gang descended on the place. She turned to look, and saw them all there, hale and hearty, though Spike did have a reddened ear, which he was rubbing ostentatiously.

They all stood looking at her sheepishly, waiting for the inevitable explosion.

Even Harmony stood out of the way. She didn't want to get between Rose and the others.

Then, Rose flew at Spike and flung herself into his arms. "You're a jerk, Spike," she muttered the phrase she'd heard Angel use upon occasion. It was somewhat muffled by the fact the she had her face buried in his shoulder.

"Yes, luv, I am," Spike agreed, wrapping his arms around her.

And the whole group let out a collective sigh of relief.


	17. Good Intentions

Good Intentions

Ethan was no longer afraid.., much. Most of the fear had burned itself out. One can only take so much, then, the senses just get overloaded and give up the whole thing as a bad job. But staring up into the eyes of a drooling werewolf definitely made the list of the worst moments of his life. As far as the vampires with souls were concerned, that merely offended his skewed sense of propriety. And as to what the bleached-blond one had said about all vampires having them someday, well, poppycock. Vampires evil. The very nature of the universe. Then he remembered the baby vampires and started to wonder if perhaps nature was changing without his permission.

He also spared a few moments to wonder exactly what they were going to do with him.

&&&&&&&

Everyone was still at Spike and Rose's, filling everyone else in on what they had missed.

"Lorne, come Monday morning, I'm going to want Angela's address," Angel said. "I want to round up the entire coven and talk to them. They didn't sound like they were really bad people, just badly mislead."

"Rosebud, hon, can I trouble you for some writing materials?" Lorne asked. He got them, and quickly scrawled out the address. "Here you go, Angeleyes. I don't expect to be in Monday morning. I'm kind of planning on staying home and nursing a hangover."

"I'd really like to slap that woman," Rose muttered. She suddenly got a crafty expression on her face. She had resumed her place on the sofa, between Spike and Angel, and abruptly leaned towards Angel, trying to get a look at the piece of paper in his hand.

"Oh no, you don't." Angel held the paper far to the other side of him.

"Got it," Fred announced. She'd been leaning on the back of the sofa. "Pick you up tomorrow, Rose?"

"Works for me," Rose agreed.

"Hey, wait a minute, you two," Angel protested. "I want the coven members in a listening mood when I talk to them. I don't think they're going to believe anything I say if you two rough that woman up first."

"Just relax," Fred advised. "We're not going to hurt her."

"We're just going to have a heart to heart chat with her," Rose explained. "Women to woman. And she's going to listen."

"Listen, ladies, I appreciate the thought and all," Lorne remarked. "But you don't have to go to the trouble."

Fred and Rose exchanged glances. "We'll decide what's trouble or not," Rose said. "Did you want to come along, Harmony?"

"I thought you'd never ask." And for Harm, that was the bare-naked truth. But Lorne had always been nice to her, accepted her as few people did, and she wouldn't mind a shot at the woman who broke his heart either. "Are you sure we can't hurt her just a little bit?"

Fred shook her head. "'Fraid not," she said apologetically. "But if we can't make her feel as badly as she deserves just talking to her, you can vamp out and scare the hell out of her."

"Cool," Harmony approved. "I'll meet you here tomorrow."

The assembled males looked around at each other and wisely decided not to intrude on what was, at the moment at least, strictly women's territory.

"By the way, darling," Rose turned back to Spike. "There is one little matter that I would like to discuss with you."

"What's that, pet?" Spike asked cautiously. When Rose wanted to 'discuss' something with him it didn't generally bode too well.

"The language you were using just before you left," Rose said with a bit of acid in it. "Why do you know what Alaric said after you left?"

"I said that daddy was going to kick the bad man's ass," came a little voice from the door to the children's room.

All eyes swiveled around to see a pair of pajama clad figures standing there. But they weren't still for long. They rushed into the living room and swarmed up onto the sofa. Ariel took Angel's lap, and Alaric decided that Spike's lap was a safer bet than Rose's at the moment.

"I said that daddy would save Uncle Angel," Ariel piped up. "And you did, didn't you, daddy?"

"Well." Spike hemmed and hawed for a moment, torn between bragging to his kids and being caught in elaboration, if not out and out lying by those that had actually been there. "I did have some help."

"Modesty, from you, Spike?" Wesley arched an eyebrow at him. "I would have thought that you'd be claiming to have taken the entire coven out on your own."

Rose was, at the moment, more concerned with little people being somewhere other than where they belonged i.e. in bed. "You two can kiss everybody good-night," she said. "Then it's back to bed with both of you."

"I'll tuck them in," Harmony offered. "C'mon guys. Auntie Harmony will tell you a story."

The twins made the rounds and kissed everybody, then obediently trotted after Harm.

"And by the way, Spike," Rose added as an afterthought. "When I'm out tomorrow, try not to..," Her forehead wrinkled in thought, as she tried to dredge up the right phrase. "Trash the place."

"Anything you say, sweetheart," Spike agreed.

"Sounds to me like someone's seriously whipped," Gunn remarked with a grin.

"And lovin' every minute of it," Spike replied. He got a thoughtful look on his face. "Speaking of whips, luv..," he said teasingly.

As Rose flushed crimson, to everyone's amusement, Wesley remarked, "I do believe that Spike just scored one."

Angel shrugged. "Everybody gets lucky once in a while," he conceded.

"And some of us get lucky damn near every night," Spike said with a smirk, then, a pained grunt escaped him as Rose's elbow connected with his ribs.

&&&&&&&

Angela was holed up in her apartment, trying to deal with the events of the previous night. By tacit consent, none of the coven members were contacting each other. She kind of doubted that any of them would want to see any of the others ever again. She was considerably surprised when her doorbell rang. Even more so when she saw three unfamiliar women standing there. She opened the door, but kept the chain up.

"Hello," she said cautiously. One of the women was blond, fashion model tall. The other two were small and petite, one with brown hair the other with chestnut locks. They were all pretty enough to give her a run for her money.

"Angela, isn't it?" asked the one with the chestnut hair. "My name is Rose. We'd like to have a word with you, if we may."

"We have a mutual acquaintance," the other small woman. "I'm Fred, by the way."

"I'm Harmony," the blond introduced herself. "May we come in?"

Unnerved by the whole thing, Angela's hands automatically undid the chain. Rose and Fred entered, but Harmony stood waiting at the door.

"You have to invite her in," Fred said quietly, without explaining why, and hoping that Angela wouldn't ask.

"Oh. Come in, Harmony," Angela said. She felt like she had no choice. Almost like she was a puppet, and someone she didn't know was pulling her strings.

Harmony walked in. She looked at Rose and Fred. "Now?" she asked.

"Not now, Harmony," Rose instructed. "That's a last resort measure. We're going to talk nice, first."

&&&&&&&&

"Wonder what they're talking about," Spike remarked. Angel and Wes had joined him for the babysitting chores, since all the women were out.

"I'm not sure I want to know exactly," Wesley replied. He had Ariel on his knee, giving the giggling little girl a horsey ride. "Women can be pretty vindictive at times."

"And they all love Lorne to death," Angel added. He had Alaric pinned to the floor. "Give up yet, sport?"

"No," said Alaric defiantly, then squealed with laughter when Angel resumed tickling him.

Spike glanced at the clock. "They've been gone long enough," he muttered. "'Bout time for tea."

"Tea?" Angel looked at Spike questioningly.

"S'what we call it around here," Spike answered. He looked at the little ones. "You two ready for something to drink?"

"Yes," they chorused, abandoning what they were doing.

Spike sighed. Best mind his manners as host, even if the guests were, more or less, uninvited. "Anyone else want some while I'm on the get?"

"Why not?" Angel replied.

Wesley looked uncertain. "You're not talking about actual tea, are you?" he asked.

"No," Spike said, looking amused. "But since you can't appreciate the red stuff, Watcher, I'll fix you a cuppa."

"Thank you," Wesley said with a sigh of relief.

&&&&&&&

"This is pretty," Harmony remarked. She was looking at a planter shaped like a music note.

"It was a gift from a friend," Angela replied, a little nervously. So far, all the three women had done was engage in small talk. But there was such a sense of purpose about them that she knew that something was up. But she still didn't know what it was.

"It looks like something that Lorne might have picked out," Rose observed. "Is that who got it for you, Angela?"

"You know Lorne?" Angela's heart sank to her shoes, and her stomach knotted up. She had a pretty good idea why these women were here now.

"Lorne's a very good friend of ours," Fred said. "Somehow, I don't think you make the list."

"Lorne's a sweetie," Harmony agreed. "We don't like the thought of someone using him." She turned to her companions. "Now?"

"Not now, Harmony," Rose replied. "We'll let you know." She turned her attention back to Angela. "How could you do that to him?" she demanded.

Angela looked at her guests in shock. These women really cared about Lorne, and the fact that he was a green demon didn't make a bit of difference to them. "We were," she started, then corrected it. "We thought we were doing something really good. Lorne was a way to lure the vampire..,"

"Angel," Rose supplied.

"Angel," Angela repeated. "To us. He was just a means to an end. I didn't mean to hurt him." She looked at her visitors with something akin to awe. "It really doesn't bother you, does it? The fact that he's a demon? That he's green?"

Fred shrugged. "Should it?" she asked. "Some of us care a little more about what's inside. And Lorne is as nice as they come."

"He is very sweet," Angela conceded. "If he had been human, I think I would have fallen for him."

"Lorne isn't so prejudiced," Rose pointed out. "He did fall for you. And you broke his heart."

"He's going to be out getting drunk tonight just trying to forget what you did to him," Harmony informed her. "I hope you're pleased with yourself." She looked pleadingly at Rose and Fred, but they shook their heads.

Angela looked from one woman to the other, and realized that they all loathed her. Because of what she'd done to Lorne. She buried her face in her hands and started crying. Because she was afraid of what they might do to her. Because she felt completely alone right now. And because of what she'd done to Lorne.

&&&&&&&

"Heard from Oz?" Spike asked, breaking the silence that had, for the most part reigned since the twins had been put down for their naps.

Angel shook his head. "I think he was planning on just sacking out for most of the day," he replied. "Changing back and forth like that kind of took it out of him."

"I've never heard of a werewolf with that kind of control," Wesley mused. "Once the change is made, it's generally conceded that the wolf takes over completely." He looked thoughtful. "I wonder if Oz would let us study him."

"Don't get your heart set on it," Spike warned. "Oz has been a lab rat before. Don't think he cared for it any better than I did."

The rattle of the doorknob indicated that the women had returned.

"Here you go, Angel." Fred handed him a piece of paper. "It's the names, addresses and phone numbers of all the coven members. But Angela is going to call them all tonight and arrange for them to meet in your office tomorrow morning at ten."

"And they're just going to do it because she's asking them to?" Angel was skeptical.

"She promised to be very persuasive," Rose murmured. Since Spike was sitting in a chair rather than on the sofa, she sat on his lap, there being no space beside him.

"Do we even want to know what you did to that poor woman?" Wesley asked.

"We didn't do anything," Harmony pouted. "I didn't even get to make a face at her. For such a cold-hearted bitch, she's a wuss."

"You did make her cry though, Harmony," Rose pointed out, trying to cheer her up.

&&&&&&&&

The coven filed out of Angel's office, slowly. They felt like complete fools, and, for the most part, they were right. But since they had been sincerely trying to work for the good, Angel had given them some contacts that could guide them safely along the way, and prevent a repeat of anything like what had happened.

Eleven of the remaining twelve immediately headed for the exit. But one lagged behind and took another direction.

&&&&&&&&

Lorne clutched his aching head for a moment, then downed a handful of aspirin. He should have taken his own advice and stayed home to nurse his hangover. He felt like he'd been run over by a Mack truck.

The knock at the door seemed to go straight through his head. "Come in," he said. "Do anything, just don't do that again." When he saw who entered, though, he changed his mind. "I take back what I said. Don't come in."

"I won't be a minute," Angela promised. "I just wanted to apologize to you, Lorne. I thought that what I was doing was more important than people, or demons." She reached into the oversized bag she had slung over her shoulder, and pulled out the planter. "Here." She set it on his desk. "Maybe you can find someone to give that to who really deserves it."

"And I suppose that that's supposed to make it all alright," Lorne said sarcastically.

"No," Angela admitted. "I know that there isn't anything I can do that will do that. But for what little it's worth, Lorne, I really am sorry."

"You sure as hell are," Lorne replied. "Now why don't you get out of my sight? The hangover's got me nauseous enough."

Head hanging, Angela left.

&&&&&&&

The week went by, and neither Oz nor Rose even thought of going back to the part time thing. They were both on the job full time, and it was working out well for both of them. They didn't even mention it. Oz showed up at the apartment as usual on Thursday, and Rose was ready to go to work.

The twins had gotten over their initial fascination with Oz. They still adored him, of course. But he was no longer the centerpiece of every conversation. He was just another fixture in their lives, as far as they were concerned, just like the rest of their adopted aunts and uncles.

&&&&&&&

By long-standing rule (ever since the twins had been born) once a month Spike and Rose had a night out. This weekend was it, and after the last few weeks, they were ready for it. Spike intended tonight to take her out and dance her feet off. Then take her home and do things that didn't require her to be on her feet for most of the rest of the night.

&&&&&&&

Gunn and Harmony were up on the baby-sitting roster, and they'd decided to take the kids out too. At the moment, Gunn had the kids to himself, sitting at a table outside the ice cream stand while Harmony was getting a treat for the children. He didn't have a lot on his mind, except for listening to the two little chatterboxes that flanked him. Until the beautiful, dark-haired woman approached their table.

"What lovely little children," she cooed. Gunn couldn't tell what part of the country she came from, but she was definitely English.

The twins looked at her curiously, and found it odd that they couldn't get inside her head. That alone was enough to catch their interest. But what the woman said next, did even more to arouse their curiosity.

"Especially the little boy," the dark lady went on. "He reminds me of someone I used to care about. He looks just like my Spike."

A pair of ice cream cones hitting the sidewalk heralded Harmony's return. "Oh my God," she gasped. "Drusilla."


End file.
